


Frostbitten Sand

by Yemi Hikari (Yemi_Hikari)



Series: Just Write It [5]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Autism, Autistic Gaara, Christmas, Coma, Comatose Derek, Dark Comedy, Gen, Holiday Chaos, Holidays, Rasa (Naruto) Lives, just write it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-30
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:08:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 29,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25156006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yemi_Hikari/pseuds/Yemi%20Hikari
Summary: Suna finds itself preparing for the first holiday season after Gaara became Kazekage, and the plans were simple. Everyone would celebrate the holidays as the normally did, but with some guests from Konoha added into the mix. Instead another guest, one more permanent, ends up throwing a hitch into the plans.
Relationships: Baki/Gaara (Naruto), Gaara & Rasa (Naruto), Kankurou & Rasa (Naruto), Rasa & Temari (Naruto)
Series: Just Write It [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1822042
Comments: 5
Kudos: 12
Collections: (Prompts) Just Write It, Autistic Characters, Fuck Yeah Autistic Characters, Naruto: Autistic Gaara, Naruto: Rasa Lives, Platonic Relationships, Siblings





	1. Prolog

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer - I don't own Naruto. This is written for the Just Write It for December 2015. Story is an AU where Rasa lives, and instead of using the events of Shippden the story focuses on the holiday season as well as holiday chaos, as per the Just Write It challenge. I'm also using Christmas rather then the Rinne Festival.

Nothing would be the same. The siblings knew this when Gaara spoke the words, "I'm sorry," for what seemed like the first time. None of the siblings including the young red head knew when Gaara last said those words, and yet the new memory hung at the back of the siblings minds as all three headed back to Suna. At the back of their minds also hung the fear of what their father would do to Gaara, and perhaps even the older siblings for failing on their mission, or even how the people of Suna would react to what amounted to a horribly construed plot by the forth Kazekage.

Thus all three wished to slip into the village unnoticed, but with only one entrance to Suna the reentering of Suna wouldn't go completely unnoticed.

The three timed their arrival late at night, and planned on if asked telling the adults around them that they were tending to injuries. Upon arriving at the entrance late that night the three found themselves met with silence. Kankuro glanced at Temari, as if to ask if the eerie feeling she got was similar to the feeling they had when people noticed Garra coming. The eldest sibling's head darted back to look at the youngest to see if he noticed, but Gaara remained staring off into space as if the situation didn't phase him.

"He's used to it I guess." Temari muttered out the words so that only Kankuro could hear her. She shook her head before heading in through the long corridor, and found themselves met with the same silence.

"Is Suna in mourning?" Gaara's voice made his sister jump, and both of the older siblings looked back to see Gaara's eyes taking in the black draping which hung around all of Suna along the path to the Kazekage's home.

The red head shinobi watched as Temari swallowed. "Well, there is no telling who all we lost. We're likely going to have to attend funerals, or something like that. Well, you might not likely be expected to go Gaara."

"They'd likely rather I not go. I don't know whether I should respect their wishes, or if I should respect the dead."

"How about we worry about that when the time comes." Kankuro grimaced, and Gaara stared trying to figure him out. Upon realizing this the older of the two brothers spoke up again. "No, I'm not upset with you Gaara. I'm just, I guess I'm a little worried because I don't have an answer for you."

Gaara puzzled over what his brother said, but found himself unable to come up with a decent answer to what Kankuro meant. The red haired shinobi followed after his siblings, and said nothing more despite the fact something about the looks on his siblings' faces told him they were upset about something. A flash of light drew Gaara's attention away to a window, and he saw someone peek out only for the person to hurry away from the window.

His siblings beckoned him to follow after, and soon the three arrived at the home of the Kazekage. All three looked up at the building, and saw no lights on. Temari stepped forward, and pushed the front door open. The three siblings expected someone to greet them when the arrived, but soon realized only silence greeted them.

All three in turn looked at each other, and Gaara worried at the corners of his mouth. "Something's not right."

Temari turned to look at him, and waved her hand. "Don't worry. I doubt the Kazekage would plan some kind of trap for us, or something like that."

"Maybe he's in his office?" Kankuro's voice strained.

"No. We'd at least sense the Anbu lurching around here, but they're nowhere in sight. I'd sense if they were here." Gaara's mouth opened slightly as the actual location almost slipped out of his mouth, and he quickly clamped his mouth shut.

"What is it Gaara?" Temari spoke in a soft voice. "Where are the Anbu?"

"They're at the hospital building."

"You know about the hospital?" One of the corners of Kankuro's mouth twisted up as he listened to the boy. "You've never been injured before, so that's rather strange."

"It's I believe what people call a landmark." Gaara glanced at the floor. "Why would the Anbu be at the hospital?"

"Maybe father's seeing to the injured? That would be one of his duties as the Kazekage wouldn't it?" Temari tried smiling at her younger brother, but some of the color from her skin fled her face.

"I wouldn't know. Is that part of taking care of Suna?"

Kankuro let out a deep breath. "I wouldn't say..."

Temari elbowed the older of her two brother's in the rib. "Part of taking care of Suna means keeping up moral, and one way to do that is by visiting the injured shinobi in the hospital. Does that make sense?"

"From what I understand moral goes down when people die, so this is to counteract the black draping? That is how it works, right?"

"Sort of." Temari beckoned her brothers after her, and the three headed to the hospital.

Upon arriving at the hospital Gaara looked around, and took in the mood trying to read the way people were feeling. The three walked in, and headed down the halls without anyone saying anything to stop them. "I don't think the Kazekage's doing a good job of lifting moral by visiting the injured."

"That's because the Kazekage isn't visiting the injured."

The familiar voice made the three siblings turn their head to look at Baki. Kankuro's face broke into a grin. "Sensei! We're glad to see you! Nobody..."

Gaara watched as Kankuro's face fell, and he looked slowly between the three. Baki cleared his voice. "Where have you three been?"

"We... Gaara needed healing." Temari's voice tighten as the half-truth passed by her lips. The female sibling swallowed deep. "Baki, where is the Kazekage? If he's not visiting the injured, then why are the Anbu here?" The man looked at the three siblings, and after a few moments of silence Temari's voice strained. "Baki?"

"Lady Temari, Lord Kankuro, follow me if you will."

Gaara's mouth opened to ask what was going on, but instead the red haired Shinobi felt as if he became invisible as he followed after his siblings, and their teacher. They arrived at a room guarded by a couple of Anbu. Baki stepped through the door, and the two older siblings followed after.

" _Should I go in?_ " Gaara stared at the two Anbu, and wondered if they would prevent him from going in. His eyes blinked a couple of times, and his mouth opened up upon hearing Kankuro's angry voice from the room. The young shinobi stepped forward, only to stop when the Anbu raised their weapons, only to stop when the Jinchuriki glared at them.

The first thing Gaara saw when he stepped into the room was Kankuro gripping the front of Baki's clothing. The young shinobi stepped forward, and reached out to touch his brother's arm. "Let... go."

Gaara's eyes darted over to the bed in the room, and his hand lowered. The young Jinchuriki stepped around the two older males, and stepped over to the side of the bed. His thin hand reached out to the touch the person lying in the bed, but stopped short upon hearing Baki's voice. "Lord Gaara!"

Gaara's pale green eyes darted over to look at the man. "Why aren't his eyes open? What's that thing over his mouth?" Baki's eyebrow's shot up, and his mouth opened slightly. Kankuro though glared at his brother in an angry manner, but Temari looked like she was going to be ill. "Did I do anything wrong?"

Banki's eyes blinked a couple of times. "Did you do anything wrong?"

Kankuro's facial features softened, and he let go of their sensei's clothing. He walked over to Gaara, and placed his hands gently on Gaara's shoulders. "You've done nothing wrong Gaara. This isn't your fault."

Gaara turned his head back to look at the Kazekage as he lay in the bed, and noticed as he did a look of surprise on Baki's face. "Why isn't the Kazekage waking up? Shouldn't our presense draw his attention?"

Baki cleared his voice, and the red haired shinobi turned to look at the man. Their sensei crossed his arms as he spoke. "The lord Kazekage's in what we call a comma."

"What does that mean?" Gaara's head turned back to look at the man.

"A comma is like the opposite of your insomnia. Instead of not being able to fall asleep, you're not able to wake up. You're in a deep dream state."

The young red haired shinobi worried the corners of his mouth. "Why?"

A deep breath from Baki made Gaara turn his head to look back at his sensei. "According to the bodyguards who were with the lord Kazekage they were meeting up with Orochimaru to make the final plans for Konoha, but Orochimaru tried burring our Kazekage with his snakes. The lord Kazekage used his gold dust to protect the men who were with him, but ended up injured in the cave in. The men were able to dig him out."

The young Jinchuriki's eyes dated over to his father. "Then it is my fault."

"Gaara. You weren't there, so how can it be your fault?" Temari's voice wavered.

"Because I wasn't there." The young shinobi's eyes widened, and he turned his head to look at his older sister. Somehow Temari knew exactly what he was thinking.

"I can't make him better Gaara. My healing abilities are minor to actual medical-nin. If they can't do it..." Temari glanced away. "And I'm not sure I want him better."

Gaara's eyes widened at this comment from his sister, and his eyes darted over to Kankuro. His brother's eyes filled with anger, but this anger for once wasn't directed at the youngest of the siblings. "It's his fault you ended up the way you did. You do understand that, don't you Gaara."

Temari reached out to tug at her younger siblings sleeve. "Come on. Let's go home and get something to eat." When the young jinchuriki didn't budge. "Alright, you can stay here. Come home soon though. I'll leave something out for you to eat."

The two older siblings left the room, and Gaara stared down at his father. His mind flickered to the memory of watching Lee asleep in his bed, and again he worried at the corners of his mouth as his arms crossed his chest. His mouth opened to speak to nobody, but himself. "I don't think I wanted this."

"Lord Gaara?"

Gaara's mouth opened, and he turned to look at Baki. The man didn't say anything. The young jinchuriki pointed at the item over the Kazekage's mouth. "What is that?"

"That is an item that helps the Kazekage breath."

"Oh..." Gaara continued to stare at the man. "Why would he do that?"

"Why?" Baki didn't continue speaking for awhile. "The lord Kazekage did that because he cared for his men, and the people of Suna."

The young jinchuriki blinked a couple of times, and his mouth opened up. Gaara pulled a chair over. "So that's what it's like? To care for someone?"

"That's one way."

The red haired shinobi sat down in a chair. "I think I want to be like that."


	2. Awakening Holiday Season

The sand crunched under the feet of the young Kazekage as he and Kankuro stepped towards Suna on their return journey. Gaara's thin hand reached down to finger the package of medicine tucked securely into his clothing. The two brother's walked with a steady stride, and for a moment Kankuro flashed a grin at his younger brother as they walked through the gates. "Well, that trip went well, didn't it?"

Gaara's head darted up to look his brother in the eye. "You coming?"

The grin quickly left Kankuro's mouth, and the young puppet master rubbed the back of his neck. "You know that I don't like going and seeing him. I'll wait for you outside of the hospital, particularly since there are Anbu guarding him."

The red haired shinobi titled his head slightly at his older brother, and didn't verbalize what he felt.

Kankuro let out a sound indicating he knew full well what Gaara was thinking at that point of time for once. "You know full well why Gaara. I'm surprised you've not given up on him yet either. He's been like this for a couple of years now."

"He's our father." The two brother's stared at each other, and then Kankuro reached out a hand to ruffle his brother's hair despite the young shinobi's status as the Kazekage. Something in Kankuro's eyes told Gaara that something was upsetting his brother, but he couldn't place his finger on what that was.

Stepping into the hospital Gaara saw the medical-nin working on putting up the decorations in the hallways. His pale green eyes widened at the sight. "Decorating already?"

One of the female medical-nin stopped what she was doing, and smiled down at the young shinobi. "Hello Lord Kazekage. Be sure to be on the look out for mistletoe so that you don't stand under it. I'm quite sure some young ladies would like to take advantage of the situation once it gets close to the day of celebration."

"I'm not quite following." Gaara watched as the nurse stepped down the ladder, and made a quick bow

"Speaking of which, would it be possible to stop by the children's ward sometime before Christmas Eve. Some of the children won't be able to go home to their families."

"I would love to, but also can't promise anything." The red haired shinobi felt the corners of his mouth twist up slightly for a short while. He waved at the nurse, before heading on his way to the room where the previous lord Kazekage stayed. On his way he stopped by the head medical-nin's office to drop off the medicine.

The two Anbu standing guard outside of the door startled upon seeing the young jinchuriki. "Lord Kazekage?" The Anbu who spoke up glanced over to his partner, before choosing to speak up. "Shouldn't you have your own guard with you?"

"Kankuro is outside the hospital waiting for me, and the two of you are here. Plus, there's also my own abilities. I wish to visit the forth Kazekage now." The men let Gaara slip into the room, and the young Shinobi headed over to sit in his usual chair next to the man. Even after two years the young shinobi couldn't find words to speak to the man, and instead picked up the book on the nightstand.

Gaara's thin fingers turned to the place he left off reading the last time, but then stopped short letting his mouth hang open for a few seconds. His head darted up wondering if he should tell the man about the visitors from Konoha who would be coming by for the holiday season, but stopped again. His eyes darted down to the page in front of him, but then pushed his lips together to look up again at Rasa.

" _Things are getting better_ ," didn't even leave his mouth, as the young shinobi watched Rasa's finger twitch, and then watched as the man's eyes flickered open for a short time.

The young Kazekage stood up, and the book dropped from his hands to the ground. Gaara let his hands grip the side of the bed, and he leaned over to look at the man. The sound of another person coming into the room didn't make the red haired shinobi look up to see who the person was, nor did the head medical-nin's calling out. "Lord Kazekage?"

Gaara's eyes widened as he watched Rasa's finger's twitch again, and then his head darted up to look at the medical-nin in question. The young Kazekage pointed a thin finger at the man in the bed. The medical-nin's eyes widened as he stepped over, and a hand reached out to touch the young shinobi's shoulder. The man then turned to Gaara. "I need you to step out so I can do my job please."

The young shinobi stepped out of the room, and stood across from the two Anbu as the head medical-nin called for other medical-nin to come into the room. Eventually they came out, and Gaara looked up at the man. "Is it all right if I see him now?"

"I don't think that is a good idea, Lord Kazekage. Would it be possible to see you and your two siblings in my office? Actually, it may not be a bad idea to see Lord Baki as well."

Gaara's eyes widened, and he pushed himself away from the door, and headed outside to where Kankuro was waiting. Upon arriving a grin spread across Kankuro's face. "So you're done visiting him, and we can go home and see Temari? She'll be glad to see us."

"They didn't let me see him." The young Kazekage watched as his brother's face fell. "The head medical-nin wants to see us in his office. You, me, Temari, and also Baki."

"Is he dead?"

Kankuro's comment made Gaara's stomach lurch, and the red haired shinobi felt the corners of his mouth pressed together.

The older of the two siblings took a deep breath, and rubbed the back of his head. "I'll go and get them. You head up to the head medical-nin's office Gaara."

The young Kazekage turned back into the hospital, and headed up to the office in question. The head medical-nin was waiting for him, and motioned for him to take a seat. When Temari and Kankuro came to the room he felt his brother's calloused hand placed onto his shoulder. Gaara saw both of his siblings were upset as Temari took a seat next to their younger brother.

Baki soon came into the room, and stood with his arms folded. "Kankuro sent me a message saying there was news regarding the forth Kazekage, and that I was to be here to hear the news as well."

The head medical-nin began to tap his fingers on the desk, and his lips pushed together. "The forth Kazekage is awake."

A silence fell over the room, and out of the corner of Gaara's eye the young Kazekage saw his sister tense up.

"Can I see him then?" Gaara felt Kankuro's hand tighten protectively around his shoulder.

"I don't think that's a good idea." The head medical-nin folded his fingers together. "While it's true Lord Kazekage that you're the only one of your siblings to visit him these last couple of years, it's also true that the fourth Kazekage doesn't know you've changed from who you were two years ago. We don't know how he'll react to seeing you."

Gaara turned to look at Temari, but she simply sat there biding her tongue instead of saying what she wanted.

Their brother didn't, however, hold back. "I'm going to put my foot down and say I absolutely don't want you to see that man. It was one thing when he wasn't awake, and couldn't say anything to you."

"We don't want you to get hurt again."

"Can't the two of you though..." Gaara's words stopped short upon feeling Kankuro's grip tighten even more.

"No. Absolutely not. Neither one of us are ready to forgive him little brother."

Another silence fell over the room. The head medical-nin finally came to the point of the meeting. "I was afraid of that. We still need someone to run interference for..." The man for some reason paused, and shook his head before continuing. "... the previous Lord Kazekage. He doesn't get know two years have passed. Lord Baki..."

"I'll run interference. The three of you need not to worry."

The corners of Gaara's mouth pressed down. Despite his trust of Baki, something still bothered him."


	3. Boxes of Christmas Tidings

Gaara followed his older siblings out of the hospital, and noticed that neither Temari and Kankuro were in a good mood. Their moods remained down even after passing the front desk which was now mostly decorated for the coming holidays. The nurse who spoke to him earlier came up, and made a quick bow. "Lord Kazekage."

The red haired shinobi stopped, and turned to see what the woman wanted. Temari tensed up upon seeing the woman, and Kankuro's facial looks became rather dumbstruck. "Yes?"

The woman held out a piece of paper to the young Lord Kazekage. "In case you are able to visit the children in the children's ward, here is a list of them."

A smirk spread over Kankuro's face, and the tension in Temari's shoulders loosened up. The older of the two brother's rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh? Why didn't you tell us Gaara?"

"Lord Kazekage, Kankuro." Temari corrected the older of the two brothers.

"Lord Kazekage." A frown spread across the puppet master's face briefly, but then the toothy smile reappeared. "We'll make sure the Lord Kazekage is able to make a visit. I'm quite sure Temari and I can do something to make sure it's fit into his schedule. Right sis?"

"Oh, right." Something about Temari's voice said she was wasn't so sure about what Kankuro promised.

Gaara placed the paper into his sleeve. "Have a nice day."

The three then turned to leave the building, and Gaara thought for a moment another woman lectured the one making the request about bothering him for such trivial things. He followed closely on the heels of his two siblings to arrive at their home. They stepped into the silent halls, and Temari headed off in one direction while Kankuro tugged on his brother's robes. "Come on. Let's get something to eat Gaara."

The young shinobi followed his brother to the kitchen, and sat down while Kankuro began to pull cans out of the cupboard to prepare some kind of food while Gaara remained watching. Temari soon came into the room with a box, and she dropped the box onto the table. Her nose wrinkled up when she realized Kankuro was cooking something. "Did you have to let him cook?"

"The only thing I've ever made is kenchinjiru. I've only your word that it actually tastes good."

"But it is good."

"Yeah... if you like vegetarian stuff."

Temari quickly elbowed the older of her two brothers in the ribs. Gaara instead turned his attention to the box, and his thin hands opened it up to reveal Christmas decorations. "What are these things? "

"Christmas decorations of course?" Kankuro blurted out getting him another elbow in the ribs from Temari.

"He means what are they for. I'm planning on decorating with them. People do at times come to the Kazekage's place of living, and those from Kohoha may be staying with us."

Gaara's eyes blinked a couple of times, and he remembered how the nurse had reminded him to avoid mistletoe. His mind couldn't quite fathom what that meant, but he knew that the girls she were referring to were the ones Temari called his " _obnoxious fangirls_ ". The red haired shinobi folded his arms as he remembered that there was something those girls wanted from him he'd yet to figure out, but he knew that Temari wanted that same thing from a certain someone.

"Do you need some mistletoe for Nara Shikamaru, Temari?" The words came out of his mouth unhindered. Kankuro's eyes widened in shock while Temari's lips pushed together into a pout of frustration. "What?"

The look of shock on the puppet master's face turned to horror as Temari stepped over to Gaara. "You seriously didn't little bro."

The tone of voice Kankuro used told the young Kazekage that he majorly messed up somehow. A few seconds later the palm of Temari's hand softly popped him on the back of the head. Instead of the sand reacting like it would two years ago, Gaara simply blinked a couple of times. "I did something wrong, didn't I?"

"Simple. Shikamaru and I don't have a thing for each other, got it?" Temari pulled her hand back."

"That means?"

A silence fell over the room, and Kankuro blinked a couple of times. "You've not figured that one out yet? That means..."

"You pervert!" Temari moved over to the older of the two brother's to cover his mouth with her hand. "Don't you tell him that!" The puppet master tried muttering something about it not being what she thought it was, but she continued to cover his mouth. "Oh no you don't! Don't say a word, as you'll say it in a manner that it will just come out wrong, and we don't want him getting the wrong ideas about this kind of thing."

Temari quickly let go of Kankuro's mouth, and butted her elbow into his gut. She walked over to Gaara, and quickly pulled him into a hug. A smile crossed her face. "Seriously, what am I going to do with you. The way you're so naive about this kind of thing is so cute! It makes me wish I got to spend more time with you when you were little, you know before all that stuff happened."

The young Kazekage's eyes blinked a couple of times. Gaara felt a slight warmth spread across his cheeks that he couldn't explain, but didn't take as a sign of discomfort. The hands of the red haired shinobi reached up though to try and loosen Temari's arm from holding him as tightly. "When can I see him?"

Temari's grip suddenly tightened, and Gaara's breath cut off. The jinchuriki found himself glad he was able to prevent himself from seeing this as an attack. Kankuro's face though despite the paint reminded him of the night their uncle died, and the look of anger and disappointment on that man's face. The puppet master's hands came up in a manner that indicated Gaara was to back off from the subject.

"Never! No way, not ever, what so ever! I'm not going to let you get hurt like that _ever_ again! Got it Gaara? It's for your own good."

The young Kazekage looked at the ground. "What do I do at night?"

"What?" Kankuro blinked a couple of times in confusion.

Temari let out a sigh. "Remember. He's got insomnia, at least the vast majority of the time, when you know, he isn't severely injured. He goes and reads to you-know-who."

"Oh, yeah." The older of the two brother's let out a sigh. "I honestly don't know Gaara."

Their sister's voice brightened up. "I know. Where is that list that nurse gave you?"

Gaara blinked a couple of times as Temari finally let him go, and handed her the piece of paper.

"All right. It's only seven kids at this point. Two girls, and five boys. Do you think we can make simple toys for them, and keep Gaara busy until he goes to see them? You know, make them a toy for Christmas?"

"You know, if he does that all of the kids will want to get sent to the hospital next Christmas." A smirk broke out on Kankuro's face.

Temari however folded her arms across her chest as she glared at her brother. Gaara quickly said something that made his brother's facial features fall. "Even I know that's not funny."

"Eh... yeah. Well, we'd help you of course. I mean, I could take a break from my puppet making to make a few simple toys. They're actually good practice you know, non-weaponized puppets for training young ninja to use puppets. Not all of them should be puppets though. Temari and I can teach you to make these things to."

"But keep in mind the toy making is for night time, not during the day when you are taking care of your Kazekage duties, all right?" Gaara didn't need to answer the question for Temari to know he understood. His older sister quickly hugged him again, and began to ruffle his hair. "This is going to be fun I think."


	4. The Forth Bah-Humbug

Rasa raised one arm up to cover his eyes so that the glare of the sun wouldn't prevent him from seeing Orichimaru from approaching, and his teeth ground together. Something about the situation didn't seem right, but the forth Kazekage needed to put Suna before any feelings of uneasiness as things were simply that bad for his hidden village. His hand still went down to his container of gold dust as his entire body tensed up.

The place they were asked to meet Orichimaru with just a quick glance was a place ideal for an ambush, and the dread Rasa felt grew. The sand that blew in from the top of the cave, down to where he was below scrunched under his feet, and finally the eerie voice of Orichimaru was heard. "So, we've come to discuss the plans, have we Lord Kazekage?"

The forth Kazekage folded his arms across his chest as he glared up at the man. "We have come to discuss things. What I don't understand is why you delayed this meeting. If the idea were to throw out all of the Konoha out of contention for the Chunin exams, doesn't it stand to reason we should have given orders to move against the Konoha shinobi taking the test during the second test to those still in the exams?"

Orichimaru folded his arms across his chest. "Now, now. I thought the plan was to obliterate Konoha during the Chunin exams, but that's far from a complete obliteration isn't it?"

Rasa uncapped his gold dust, and took a step back making his men take position in other places. His mouth twisted up into a frown. "The plan was to eliminate all of the Konoha genin so that everyone believes Konoha's low prices are because the quality of their shinobi is low."

The man with the snake like features let out a tisking sound, and waved a finger. "My, my Rasa. You really do think to small. It's no wonder Suna's in the financial straights it is in now." The man's mouth twisted into a nasty grin, as suddenly a giant snake appeared, and the man casually got on the snake's head. A hissing sound said other snakes were in the area. "No, my dear Rasa, the plan is to sick Suna's jinchuriki on Konoha during the third task to completely obliterate Konoha. Of course, I also knew that you wouldn't actually _give_ such an order."

The anxiety in the pit of Rasa's face suddenly exploded, as Orichimaru started to use the other snakes to bring down the ceiling while he escaped through the hole with the other snake. The entire layout favored the traitor, and Rasa regretted going along with the council on this one. His thoughts quickly shifted to who Orichimaru wished to use. " _Gaara..._ "

What ever he was thinking at the time simply didn't come, as protecting the men who were with him became far more important then attempting to think about the situation going on outside. The snakes were managing to collapse the ceiling on themselves as well as the Suna shinobi, and Rasa made a quick move with his gold dust hoping it would move into enough places in time. Then came the crushing pain, and Rasa found himself in complete, and painful darkness.

"Rasa?"

The forth Kazkegae felt soft hands take his own, and he found himself sitting at a cafe. His eyes blinked a couple of times upon seeing the familiar face of Karura, and one of his rough hands drifted to the top of hers. "Are you absolutely sure you're fine with this, what with me being five years your senior?"

"Isn't it now seventeen years my senior?" Karura's teasing words blinked a couple of times. "The forth Kazekage is a pervert, hitting on woman way younger then him!" The woman smiled at him. "Should I be worried that you've found another woman, or should I say women?"

Rasa removed his hands from Kurura's, and folded them across his chest. "Seriously..."

"I think Suna needs a hospital. Aren't we going to discuss said plans."

The man swallowed. "Karura, you're dead."

Karura's bright eyes twinkled as she looked him right in the eye, and she leaned into her thin fingers to hide her laughter. "What does that make you?"

" _Dead as well_?" Rasa's mouth opened, but the word for some reason couldn't come out.

"Remember how we first met?"

"It was to discuss the building of the hospital. You were interested in the idea, and I told my father the third Kazekage I thought it was a good idea even though the council looked down upon you because..." Rasa glanced away. "You and your brother were born outside of the Land of Wind, and were brought here by your father at a very young age. That isn't important is it."

Karura's mouth twisted up into a frown. "Rasa, that's not when we first met. Yashamaru and I finished strong in the chunin exams, and were receiving a promotion. You were there with your father when he greeted those of us who earned the rank."

"I was dressed in Anbu guard at the time..."

"And left your position to chastise one of the shinobi mocking Yashamaru and I, and your father chastised you by name, did he not."

Rasa let out a deep breath. "Could we not talk about my father? You know that it's a sore subject. He abandoned Suna."

"Isn't that what you're doing now?"

Karura's words stung, and Rasa let his tone loose at the chastising from his dead wife. "What I'm doing?"

"You're not dead Rasa, although you're right on the edge. You really should go back as there are people waiting for you."

"Waiting for me? You mean the people I failed to protect?" Rasa felt an ache in his stomach. "Just like I failed you."

"How so?"

"You are dead, aren't you?" Rasa folded his hands in front of him, and his eyes darted down. "On top of this Temari beats up every single possible suitor she could have for a possible future husband."

"Really? I think deep down you're glad that you're daughter can hold her own, and not let any man walk over her. I'm quite sure she'll find the right person when the time comes.

"Kankuro, well that child simply isn't the brightest, and all he does is collect those creepy puppets of his."

"Doesn't that have something to do with the fact you never could use puppet techniques to save your life? You are after all, quite proud of him."

"Then there is Gaara."

"What about Gaara?"

"Gaara..." Rasa took a deep breath. "I turned Gaara into a monster, and I've likely in all reality even caused his death at the hands of Konoha, what with my stupidity.

Karura titled her head to the side. "Now what happened to the Rasa from our younger years?"

"He never existed. The man you fell in love never existed, and was a fake. I'm the man who took your precious baby, your fragile little angel, and turned him into a demon."

A smile spread across her face, and Karura's eyes twinkled as she stood up, and leaned over to whisper into Rasa's ear. "You are undeniably the demon who devoured my love. Don't you think you're real worry is about whether or not Gaara's like you?"

Rasa felt the wrinkled beside his mouth twist up, and he leaned into his hands. "I wish it were that simple."

"Gaara's waiting for you."

"Gaara's dead, and for all I know Temari and Kankuro are as well."

"Then why aren't they here?" Karura pulled back and motioned to the Suna from a better time, and the small cafe he enjoyed taking her to.

"Because I sent Gaara to hell."

Karura folded her arms behind her back. "Really? From the way you're talking that's where you would go."

"Yes, but this is limbo. Gaara's already gone on, but you're trying to convince me to not go on to where ever I'm going."

"Rasa..." His dead wife walked over, and wrapped her arms gently around his shoulders. "I can't honestly convince you to go back, but I also know it's not your time love. There are things you need to do still. Even if our youngest is gone, whose going to take care of Temari and Kankuro?"

The forth Kazekage didn't respond. "There are others who are taking care of them."

Karura pulled back, and placed her hands on her hips. "Someone else to take care of them." An evil smirk spread across her face, making a shudder run down Rasa's spine. "Don't you mean Lady Tsunade? I mean, Suna's likely as you said fallen, and she's then the most likely canidate to take care of them."

Rasa stood up, pounding his fists onto the table. "Not your crazy sensei!" One of his hands cut across. "I absolutely won't let her meddle with Kankuro and Temari's well being! One of the reasons you and Yashamaru struggled with being accepted despite the fact your father was of Suna was because she took you on for a period of time! They thought Yashamaru was nuts with that medical-nin talk, and that you two had ties to outside of the village which..."

The man stopped. "Which would lead you to betray us." One hand went up to his forehead. "You never did though, despite the fact there was speculation of your mother being from Konoha, and your sensei definitely being from there. You two were always loyal to Suna."

"You know, if it weren't for her Yashamaru would never have taken the Chunin exams in the first place, and I didn't want to take them without him." Karura folded her arms behind her back, and then plucked a kiss onto Rasa's cheek. "It seems you've finally made up you're mind love. Just keep in mind I'm closer then you think. This isn't good-bye, you'll soon find out. Not like last time."

Rasa closed his eyes, his mind not wanting to deal with what he knew would be going on in the outside world. He could feel his fingers twitch as his body though began to come awake, and for a few seconds his eyes opened. At first he saw nothing, but then a familiar face with red hair, and the word love scarred onto his temple appeared above him leaning over, and...

The forth Kazekage's eyes shut before he could even begin to fathom what was going on, and soon he felt medical-nin around him, helping him to wake up. Rasa tried opening his mouth to ask how long he'd been asleep, as it seemed that he'd seen Gaara, and the boy had a growth spurt, meaning he'd been asleep for a couple of months.

Finally, one of the times he thought this he managed to lift a hand to his forehead, and let out a groan. " _No, Gaara's dead because of your foolishness. You were hallucinating."_

At that time Baki came into the room, and a medical-nin lifted water to Rasa's mouth. Somehow the forth Kazekage managed to speak. "Temari and Kankuro. I'd like to see them."

"I'm sorry Lord Kazekage, but neither one of them wish to see you at this point in time."

Rasa let the words sink in slowly, and then leaned back against the pillow as his body simply didn't have the energy to try and remain sitting in an upright position like he was trying. His eyes snapped shut. " _Do they blame me for Gaara dying? I can't imagine why, as those three were never really close. Well, Temari and Kankuro were close, and Temari seemed to have some kind of positive effect on controlling Gaara, which is why I hoped..."_

" _I hoped things would change, but they didn't. Let's face the fact Gaara's not the child Karura held in her arms the day she died, so does it really matter?_ "


	5. Misplaced Patchwork Stiches

Gaara sat on the bed in the Kazekage's room looking at the teddy bear head in his hands. His pale teal eyes darted over to the stuffed animal sitting propped up next to the just as unused pillow on the bed. A sigh escaped the young Kazekage's mouth as he tried figuring out what he'd done wrong on his own version of his childhood toy.

" _Maybe you just don't understand the feelings of the child you want to give it to._ "

The red haired shinobi's eyes snapped shut at the attack from Shikaku, and then realized the beast actually for once was trying to be helpful. Gaara's eyes opened up, and he looked over at the toy. " _Problem is I don't exactly understand the feelings I have with my own toy, or why it actually survived._ "

" _I wouldn't call Temari having to mend it for you when she discovered it's ear torn off as your teddy having survived childhood. Or it's arm for that matter. The look on her face when she saw how you trashed your old room is quite amusing._ "

Gaara set down the teddy bear head, and began to change from his normal clothes, to the clothing of the Kazekage for the meeting he would have with the council in the morning.

" _In other words you were looking forward to mocking me all along, rather then helping._ "

" _Why would I of all people help you? You're way to trusting kid._ "

Gaara stood up, and let his fingers drag against the top of the desk before he snatched the awkward teddy bear head so it hung from his hand, and the young Kazekage headed down to the kitchen to see if Temari was cooking anything for breakfast. His nose could pick up the distinct smells of cooking.

Temari stood at the stove, and in the sink were the pots and pans Kankuro would need to clean after the rather strange tasting meal from the night before. Gaara leaned against the doorway until Temari realized he was there, and turned around. "Good morning, little brother."

Gaara slipped over to the table, and set the stuffed animal onto the table. "I don't know what I'm doing wrong."

Temari took a break to pick up the stuffed animal, and a smirk spread across her face. "So my genius little brother actually isn't getting something on the first try."

"It's not funny."

"I'm laughing because I love you Gaara." Temari set the bear onto the table, and reached out to ruffle his hair, only to sigh upon realizing he'd already set the sand shield up. "Do you have to do that? You're hair is so soft you know."

"Still..." Gaara sat down in a chair at the table, and picked up the bear to stare at the object in question. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Temari thinking, and watched as she headed over to the sink to get something. She brought back one of his cacti, and set it on the table. "What is that for?"

"Try touching the needles."

Gaara's eyebrows rose up, and he sat the bear down in confusion. "You know I can't. My sand prevents me from doing such a thing."

"And right there is your problem." Temari folded her hands across her chest. "Part of the learning process, well, it's about pricking your finger a few times to feel what you're doing. So please, don't be so hard on yourself Gaara. Maybe Kankuro has some of he wooden parts for the other toys for you to sand. You like sanding things for Kankuro, don't you."

"Still..." Gaara felt Temari pat him on the shoulder.

"Just don't worry about it. Let me get you something to eat." Temari headed to the stove, and soon brought Gaara back to eat. She sat down across from him, and ate her own food, but eventually she looked up to see that Gaara was picking at his food. "Something the matter."

"I'm not sure." Gaara stopped poking at the food, and looked up at Temari. "I'm really not sure what to think about all of this. I'm also likely going to receive an earful from the council this morning."

Temari frowned at her brother while her utensil for eating her breakfast remained hovering over her bowl. "Gaara, are you worried that the council will want father to step back into the position with Kazekage."

"Well, that is a possibility. I do not have the experience the forth Kazekage does. Sometimes..."

"Don't you dare say you sometimes think about not deserving the position." Temari let her utensils clatter down to her bowl. She pointed her finger at her younger brother. "You've come a long way, and you're a much better person then you used to be. F... that man, that man's the one whose not changed. He can't have, as he's been in a comma for two years now, and missed everything."

"If I deserved a second chance, doesn't he?" Gaara watched as Temari's eyes widened, and her hands dropped to her sides. Her teal eyes also drifted to the table.

"That. Why do you have to be this way."

Gaara's sea foam colored eyes widen. "Temari, I'm sorry if I've done something wrong."

"That's just it Gaara. You've actually done nothing wrong." Temari folded her arms across her chest. "About giving the forth Kazekage a second chance..."

"It's not going to happen." Kankuro's voice made Gaara's head snap around, and the young Kazekage saw that his older brother wasn't in a good mood. "Don't you dare say you're going to give him a second chance Temari! All he'll do is walk all over Gaara, and use him as a tool again!"

Temari looked at Gaara then, and the pain in her teal eyes became even more evident. The next thing Gaara knew, his older sister moved over to behind him, and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. He felt her body relax against his, and yet he still couldn't find himself able to eat. His eyes darted up to the clock on the wall, but didn't say anything to Temari.

Kankuro finally let out a sigh. "Temari, you know that the elders council likes to see Gaara after he gets back from a mission. You know that they still don't trust him. He's going to be late."

"Sorry Gaara." Temari pulled away from the young Kazekage, and let out a sigh.

"What ever for?" Gaara's eyes widened, but Temari hugged him tighter.

"If I remember to I'll explain later, when Kankuro isn't around." His older sister whispered into his ear, and still refused to let him go. A clearing of Kankuro's throat made her finally let Gaara go.

The young Kazekage looked up at the clock, and the corners of his mouth twisted down in frustration. "We need to hurry."

Gaara reached out with his hand to create one of his sand clouds, but Kankuro reached out to stop him. His older brother shook his head. "You know that the elders outside of Baki find it creepy when you go through the window, and take short cuts like that. We'll just need to hurry."

Temari let out a sigh. "I think that they'll be even more upset if he's late Kankuro."

The puppet master folded his arms across his chest. "No, they'll be more upset if he shows up on that sand cloud of his."

The young Kazekage rolled his eyes into the back of his head, and slipped out of the room without Kankuro or Temari noticing that he'd left. "Seriously, there is time to make the meeting either way, but only if I leave now."

The spirit sealed inside of him laughed about how Gaara wanted to use the sand cloud to conserve his energy, and it would also get him to the council room before the elders. Gaara instead choose to not try and rial his brother up, as that would only definitely make them late. His seafoam eyes took in the Christmas decorations a few people put out, and simply kept walking.

"Did you hear the rumor that the forth Kazekage's woken up?"

Gaara stopped short, and titled his head towards the voice and saw a group of three women standing there gossiping. One of the women leaned forward slightly. "Do you think they'll make the fifth Kazekage step down so the forth Kazekage can have his position back?"

"Truth be told I think they should. The forth Kazekage has more experience then the young Kazekage, and there is the fact we don't know..."

The third woman who hadn't spoken up again noticed that Gaara was watching, and she quickly covered the other woman's mouth. "Lord Kazekage? Good morning to you."

"You don't..." Gaara didn't get the first word out before the woman took off. "...have to tiptoe around me anymore." The young Kazekage rubbed his shoulder blades wondering how the three woman found out the information, but then a loud shrillness came to his ears causing his eyes to widen.

"Lord Kazekage!"

Gaara let his mouth twist up at the corners slightly at the sight of the two young Shinobi coming towards him. "Good morning." The young Kazekage's ears rang from the shrillness of their voices. " _Actually, there is another reason I prefer the alternative method of my sand cloud to this even though it does attract unwanted attention as well._ "

" _This wouldn't happen if you'd let that creepy brother of yours actually act as bodyguard._ "

"How are you doing this morning Lord Kazekage?" One of the females chirped, and leaned in a little to close for comfort.

The other clutched her hands tightly to her face. "You were on a mission to Konoha to arrange for the visit. Normally you don't go on very many missions anymore, unless it is an A-rank mission."

"The job of the Kazekage also involves diplomatic measures with the other villages, and Konoha is our ally." Gaara looked at the two girls unblinking as the girls began to giggle about various things he didn't really understand, as well as move into his personal space, something they would never have done prior to the first Chunin exams he participated in. After awhile he held up his hand. "Apologies, but I am needing to get to a council meeting, otherwise I'd stay and chat some more."

The girls giggled some more, and mentioned something about mistletoe again. Gaara didn't ask what they were talking about, and simply headed to the council chamber. He thought nothing of the morning events, and tried brushing off the fact females liked to, as Kankuro called it, gossip. The young Kazekage froze upon hearing a familiar voice behind him.

"Gaara!"

The young shinobi in question felt someone yank on his clothing from behind, and his eyes widened. His sand though didn't react as it were an attack, and he turned to see that Kankuro glared at him.

"Seriously! You're not supposed to go off without me like that!" Kankuro's rough hands reached out to pull on Gaara's cheeks. "Seriously! You can't go off like you used to! You're the Kazekage now, and..."

His older brother kept at it, but finally the sound of Baki's throat clearing made Kankuro stop speaking. "Chastising the Lord Kazekage like that in front of the council chambers is rather unbecoming, Lord Kankuro. Add to this he's now late."

Kankuro let go of the front of his brother's clothing, but still didn't seem pleased as Gaara followed Baki into the room while Kankuro waited outside.


	6. Holiday Worries Coming Forth

The elders of Suna council sat around the table except for Baki. The young Kazekage stepped into the room after his former sensei. Gaara said nothing, and instead one of the elders spoke up. "You're late Lord Kazekage. It isn't as if you have a mother to coddle you."

"No, I have a sister instead." Gaara sat down at his end of the table, and folded his fingers lightly together, sitting in a rather relaxed position. "The Shinobi from Konoha are looking forward to their visit for the holiday."

One of the elders glared at Gaara. "Lord Kazekage, don't you think that we have more important matters to worry about right now."

A third elder let out a sigh. "Specifically he means it may not be a good idea to have the Shinobi from Konoha come and visit, what with the fact the forth Kazekage is awake, and it may be best to keep things calm."

Baki's mouth twisted up into a frown as he looked at the men. "This event is actually an important event for political relations between our hidden village, and the other hidden village."

"Yes, but the Lord Kazekage, the forth Kazekage that is, he's now awake. We hadn't expected such an event to occur." The second elder spoke up.

The former sensei of the young Kazekage looked the man straight in the eye wondering how far the elders would take this particular argument, but Gaara spoke up. "If the forth Kazekage were in this position he wouldn't back down."

"I'm not exactly sure Lord Kazekage that the forth would have approved of this event in the first place." The first of the elders to speak strained his voice.

A silence fell over the room at this point, as Baki cleared his throat. A forth elder let out a sigh. "You know as well as I that this was our idea, not the Lord Kazekage's. Remember that this was to help lift Suna's spirits as well, and with what is going on this is going to be needed."

"Yes, fine. We won't argue about the celebration continuing, but do we need to let the Kunoha Shinobi know that the forth Kazekage has woken up. That is an embarrassment." The third began to tap his fingers on the table.

"How is it an embarrassment. Shouldn't we be celebrating it instead."

The first folded his fingers together in a tight manner, and his lips pushed into a frown with the same tightness. "Perhaps. But there is also about who will be Kazekage now that the forth has woken up. The firth, pardon for me saying this, is not as experienced as the forth when it comes to politics."

"That may as it be, that's really a conversation we should be having later on, as the forth is still recovering." Baki's eyes darted over to Gaara, and saw the young Kazekage wasn't fased by the discussion.

"Speaking of how the forth is recovering, Baki, you've been in to see him have you not?"

Baki remained composed. "The forth Lord Kazekage is awake, but weak as would be expected for someone whose been in a coma for as long as he has. He is though speaking, and wishes to see Temari and Kankuro."

"They've not been to see Lord Rasa yet? He is after all their father." The first elder's facial features twisted up in a way that said he wasn't pleased with the situation.

"Sorry." Gaara spoke up at that time. "I don't know what to say to them. They're quite adamant that they do not wish to see him."

The young Kazekage's former sensei let out a sigh, and noticed the sudden sign of frustration for the first time during that meeting. The other council members remained silent for a few minutes. The discussion quickly changed subject to the up and coming visit from Konoha which would occur in a few weeks, as well as various other needs of Suna's which needed to be addressed.

The subject of Rasa didn't come up again. The meeting ended with the first elder lecturing the young Kazekage about arriving on time, as well as presentation due to overhearing Kankuro's antics outside. They left leaving the young Kazekage and his former sensei, and the boy looked up at Baki. "I'm still not allowed to see him?"

"He specifically asked for Kankuro and Temari, so I'm going to say no at this point."

"How is he really doing?"

Baki thought over Gaara's words carefully, and then told the red haired shinobi what he wanted to hear. "He's stubborn. I'm going to head over to the hospital this afternoon to see how things are doing, and I'll be sure to give you an update." The former sensei looked at the young Kazekage, and knew Gaara still wasn't pleased. "I'm quite sure he'll be proud of the progress you've made, Lord Kazekage."

"Proud?" Gaara glanced away, and walked over to the window. "I don't know. I think I can honestly do better, truth be told." The young Kazekage's hands folded behind his back. "On top of this his standards are high. You of all people know full well what he expected of all of us, his children." The red haired shinobi turned his head to look at Baki. "Plus, I don't think that's what I'm looking for, as I don't expect it."

Baki's mouth twisted slightly at the sides, but he didn't push the issue. Later that afternoon he headed to the Suna hospital, and spoke to the head medical-nin. The other man didn't seem pleased with something, and found out when he asked how Rasa was doing.

"The forth Kazekage, well, when you go in to see him I ask that you don't ask him questions, and answer any questions he has with care. We've also made sure to clear out the rooms near where the Kazekage is, so that his recovery can be done without interference." The head medical-nin took a deep breath. "I'm actually worried about his recovery."

"How so?" Baki folded his arms across his chest.

"Lord Rasa, he thinks the recovery will take a short period of time, but under normal circumstances full recovery takes around three months at least. Add to this we're talking someone whose physical ability is above the normal person." The medical-nin folded his arms across his chest, and his facial features looked stern.

"So you're saying the amount of time he wants to recover is impossible?"

"I honestly think he's being unrealistic, and may end up causing himself serious harm. As you well know the Kazekage's in his forties. For that quick of a recovery he would need to open up some of the eight gates, and that may not be a good thing. In fact, I actually wouldn't recommend that, but I imagine the Kazekage's stubborn enough to do something like that."

"Is he even capable?" Baki shook his head. "Never mind. I imagine the Lord Kazekage would be that stubborn. I'll go and speak with him now."

The medical-nin held up his hand. "It's not a matter of being stubborn, but a matter of being desperate enough. We've all know what Lord Rasa's done in the past. I wouldn't past him to do something like that. You'll understand when you go in to speak with him."

Baki headed to the room the Lord Kazekage was located in, and noticed that the forth Kazekage was sitting up in bed with his arms folded. "Lord Kazekage?"

Rasa looked up at Baki. "Any word from Temari and Kankuro?"

"Sorry, I've not been able to speak to them, but they're still quite adamant about not coming in."

"That's all right. I'll be up and about in a weeks time, so hopefully this will give them enough time to adjust."

Baki folded his arms behind his back. "Lord Kazekage, are you sure that is a good idea?" Rasa simply looked at Baki, rather then answering. " _There was a time I would never question the forth Kazekage on anything._ " The council elder quickly switched tactics. "I apologize. I know I have, under normal circumstances overstepped my grounds, but it's been requested of me to be concerned for your health, Lord Kazekage."

"I'll be fine Baki. There are also things I need to do. Understandably I've been asleep for way to long."

The Suna elder's thoughts turned to the many things which occurred, as well as how long it had been, but he didn't say anything about how long it had been.


	7. Glittering Christmas Lights

Time passed, and the young Kazekage went about his business despite the fact he wished to personally see how Rasa was doing. Instead he satisfied himself with the reports he received from Baki, and the preparations for the coming holiday which would occur in a few weeks or so. A few who heard that Rasa was awake despite the closed lips of the medical-nin asked if he'd been to see Rasa, and if he'd anything to report.

"I've not been to see him lately." Such an answer though caused the person asking the question to glare at him as if he'd done something wrong.

Finally he stopped short upon hearing more gossiping going on. "Can you believe that the fifth Kazekage hasn't been to see his father, the forth Kazekage since he's woken up?"

"Come on, it's simply a rumor that the forth has woken up, and the fifth is busy with his duties."

"Yes, but none of the forth's Kazekage's children have been to visit him. With such ungrateful children he should re-marry once he's well enough."

The young Kazekage's eyes widened at this comment, and watched as the two women passed by without noticing that he was in the connecting hall. He headed to his office, and stayed there thinking about what was said, as he poured through the paperwork. Late in the evening though he finished, and found himself

Gaara stared at the cactus growing on his desk, wondering how things would turn out. His eyes narrowed recollecting the fact Rasa awoke four days earlier, and the time kept ticking away to when something might blow up. The stuffed teddy bear he was trying to make also lay on the desk in front of him, and his pale green eyes took in every flaw.

" _If I would describe the difference between your precious teddy, and the one you're trying to make, your precious teddy is how your father is, and sister and brother, but this one represents you really well. No matter how much you patch yourself together, you won't meet his standards. You should know that by now._ "

" _You know that you goading me doesn't work anymore, right?_ "

" _I'm just trying to be helpful, oh Young Kazekage._ "

The young Kazekage leaned back, and looked up at the ceiling, and noticed a few Christmas decorations above his head. His mouth opened wondering when they got there, and a knock came on his door. "I put those up there knowing you've a habit to look up there, or out the window when something frustrates you. Don't worry though, there is no mistletoe. I don't want you to ever be ready for that."

"Temari?" Gaara's head darted up as his sister stepped into the room. "Are you sure you and Kankuro wouldn't go and visit father?"

His pale green eyes noticed the trey of food, and watched as his sister stepped over. "You need to eat. I brought you some sweets." This comment made Gaara grimace, and Temari's mouth twisted up into a smile. "I know full well you secretly love sweets Gaara, and I promised nothing I brought is of a jellied consistency, or anything which has a texture it shouldn't have."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Gaara moved his hands to his mouth, not liking how his sister changed the subject on him so quickly.

"Really? You've personally told me that jellied deserts feel like slime going down your throat, and that you don't understand why candied chestnuts aren't hard like other candied nuts. Plus, you're going to need to taste the treats I'm making for the holidays for our guests, aren't you?" Temari smiled at her brother. "Speaking of which, you should take a look outside your window."

"The sun has already set." Gaara stood up from where he sat, and turned to look out the window. He stopped short upon seeing the white lights right outside of his window, and found himself unable to say anything.

"They finished getting the lights for that building ready just today." Temari pushed herself up so she was sitting on the side of the desk, and crossed her legs together so she was looking out at the window. One of her hands went down to one of the treats. "I wasn't changing the subject on you Gaara, but getting businessmen taken care of first. I hope you can appreciate that."

Gaara's eyes widened, and he looked at his sister. "Temari..."

The blond turned her head. "I don't want to see him anymore then Kankuro does, and I'm not going to go and see him in the hospital, but..." The young Kazekage felt his eyes widened. "I'll give him a second chance for you, particularly since it's the holiday season. I'm not going to be able to convince Kankuro, and I think it's best not to say anything."

The red haired Shinobi moved over to the desk, and pushed himself up onto the top of the desk so he was sitting on the opposite side of the trey of sweets, and took one of the treats. "I'm quite sure anything you make will be fine Temari." Gaara bit down onto the piece of goshikito, and chewed for a bit thinking carefully. "You know how you told me not to listen to that thing called gossip."

Temari blinked a couple of times, before turning her head to look at her brother. "Gossip? You aren't listening to the fact some people want to replace you with f... with the forth are you?"

"It's not that. How do people know that father's awake? From what I learned from the head medical-nin, it's supposed to be a secret that he's awoken from that coma. We only sent word to Lady Tsunade of the leaf village." Gaara's hands tightened around the edge of the desk.

"So you're worried about a leak now?" Temari picked up another treat. "Well, shouldn't you have been worried about that a few days ago.

"The people want the forth back. I'm glad for that. I didn't though expect..." The young Kazekage turned to Temari. "I've been asked if I've seen him today, and if I could pass on any news. I was truthful, and they didn't like the answer."

"Did you tell them that you're not being allowed to visit father because he doesn't know how you've changed."

"I can't reveal such information. People are also wanting to visit him, and are wondering why visitations are limited."

Temari frowned. "Because everybody would want to see him. Thankfully though it's still just rumor status when it comes to gossip. That's something though you don't understand, is it?"

"Temari..." Gaara pushed his lips together. "Why would they think father should remarry?"

"That..." A sigh escaped his sister's mouth telling him he didn't like the subject. "I'd rather not talk about it, as that one is hard to explain. Is that all that's bothering you?"

"Is it wrong to not visit him?"

"Don't you mean, ' _is it right to not visit him_ '?" Temari titled her head as she reached for another treat. "Of course it's right, as we don't know what he's thinking, or how he'll react. I need time to get used to the idea he's going to be back in our lives whether we want it or not, and Kankuro, well, I doubt we'd want him going to visit the forth Kazekage. There's no telling what he would do."

"Still..."

"Gaara, I know you want to go and visit him, but I don't want you getting hurt. He doesn't know you changed, so I dread knowing what he'll say to you." Temari sat with him in the quiet as they munched on the treats, and the young Kazekage knew that the subject was now closed.

Eventually though nearly all of the treats were gone. "What are you going to do about any treats which contain jellied subjects, or those nasty candied chestnuts." Gaara looked up at the ceiling. "I doubt the elders would like seeing us sitting on the desk like this, now that I think of it."

"I'm not going to serve any jellied treats, and I love candied chestnuts, so I doubt I could make any without eating all of them." Temari hopped down from the desk. "It's late at night, so they're not likely to notice. Plus, it's a nice view of the lights across the way, and it doesn't hurt to act your actual age for once, or to make up for what you missed in your childhood, so long as you don't act in a bratty manner."

Gaara realized he hadn't let go of the edge of the desk with his one hand, and frowned down at his now sticky hand. His fingers rubbed together remembering the other part he didn't like about sweets. Temari tapped him on the shoulder. "Try to get some rest tonight, and don't push yourself. I know you struggle to sleep, and all, but you should still try."

The young Kazekage found himself alone at that point, and eventually he pushed himself up to take his older sister's advice. Despite heading back to his room he couldn't sleep, and almost started working on the strange teddy bear he'd been working on. His eyes caught sight of a particular cacti growing in the window, and a though occurred to him.

" _If it is all right to act in a childish manner ever so often, so long as I don't act like a spoiled brat, then perhaps I can do that in the morning. I really want to know how he's doing. I'm tired of waiting._ "

" _Good for you! However, I don't think that the word childish means what you think it does, poor child._ "

Gaara simply leaned against the pillows, and watched for the sun to rise. When the sun finally came up, he headed to another meeting with the elders, listened to more gossip from a few Suna shinobi, and took care of a few other duties. He finally found himself with a break from his duties, and came back to grab the cacti from the place it was located. He walked to the Hospital, and slipped in using his Desert Suspension to get in.

The young Kazekage headed to the room where his father rested, and glanced around the door frame. His eyes widened upon seeing that Rasa wasn't there, and then he stepped in the room. His mouth increased into a frown, and he noticed someone else had gotten the idea to follow proper etiquette for when someone was in the hospital. He stepped over to set the cactus down onto the table.

" _Liar. You didn't just sneak in to leave a gift. You want to see him._ "

" _It's best that I don't._ "

" _Except you're worried, admit it, that he isn't here._ "

Gaara tried ignoring the spirit sealed inside of him, but stopped short as he sensed someone heading to the room, and knew he didn't have time to move without being caught.


	8. Blooming Christmas Cactus

"I'll be fine Baki. There are also thinks I need to do. Understandably I've been asleep for way to long."

The look on the teacher of the forth Kazekage's children told Rasa that none of Baki's worries were alleviated by what he said, but he choose to brush off the concern as the other man simply doing his job. The medical-nin complied with Rasa's request to work on a fast recovery, but gave him strange looks. In his head he listed off the things that would need to be done, and ignored the fact there was a book found in his room that indicated someone came to visit him while he was in a coma.

" _First and foremost we need to do something to re-establish relationships with Konoha, as without them we're find ourselves with even more economic strain. Second, I need to do something about..._ " Rasa took a deep breath the first time he came to the second item on the itinerary. " _Second, if Gaara is alive I need to do something about him. I'm honestly not looking forward to that. Third_... _"_

The list rattled on, and on. The forth Kazekage couldn't help though think that his attempt to improve Suna's economic status by improving their chances at the exam would lead to Gaara being used like he was. Rasa found himself unable to decide whether he felt guilty because of the way Gaara's powers were misused by someone, or that his stupidity led to the child's death. Rasa's mind kept leaning towards Gaara's powers being misused by a stranger. " _I can't imagine I still have any feelings for Gaara, with what he became._ "

His mind soon switched to the fact his muscles hurt from the attempt to regain his physical strength, but he pushed it away with the fact he knew there was a goal he needed to meet. As he came in and out of the room he found that the medical-nin brought in various gifts from a few people he didn't know, but he also found his mind drifting back to Gaara.

" _He's dead, and you know whose to blame. Can't blame Kankuro and Temari for not wanting to see you._ " This thought was countered with, " _I did what was best for Gaara. There was nothing I could do to save him._ " This in turn was countered with, " _Was it the best, or are you just making excuses?_ " Rasa somehow managed to find himself moving through the halls with crutches, and found himself running into Baki, and Rasa saw the rather exasperated look on the other Shinobi's face.

"Lord Kazekage. Don't you think you're over doing it?"

"Fine. I'll head back to the room then Baki." Rasa though felt the need to still push himself despite the fact Baki and the others felt he'd done enough for the day. He moved back to the room despite the pain, and a thought popped into his head. " _You know Baki is right. You're only punishing yourself._ " The man shook his head. " _No, this is because there are things that need to be done._ "

Somehow he managed to hobble into the room, but stopped short upon seeing a person in the room over by the bed. His eyes widened as he saw the young, red haired Shinobi standing there. "Gaara?" Rasa watched as his youngest son's eyes darted away, and his head titled in order to avoid eye contact. "You're alive."

"Sorry."

This comment made one of Rasa's eyebrows to go up. "Sorry? Sorry for what?" The man looked around to see if there were any changes to the room, but instead glanced around the room to make sure that Gaara wasn't trying to do something. " _I don't have my Gold Dust on me. Plus, did Gaara actually apologize for something? Is he trying to get something from me?_ "

"For being alive."

Rasa felt the corner of his mouth twitch at what Gaara said, but his eyes fell upon the strange plant now in his room that wasn't there before his youngest had entered the room. "Gaara, what is that?"

The forth Kazekage watched as a spark appeared in Gaara's eyes, and the corners of the boy's mouth twisted up. "It's a Christmas Cactus. They actually don't grow in the desert, but in another place entirely."

Words suddenly poured out of the boy's mouth, and Rasa felt both eyes go up. He moved over to the bed, and leaned his crutches up against the wall between his bed, and the nightstand where this Christmas Cactus now sat. Everything Gaara said about cacti went over his head, and it seemed as if the young Shinobi didn't even notice that he was in the room. Something was different.

Rasa's eyes darted over to Baki, and saw a look of frustration on the sensei of his three children. "Gaara, sit." The forth Kazekage watched as Gaara's eyes blinked a couple of times, and then how the boy sat down in the chair to comply before continuing to speak about cacti again. Baki let out another breath as if her were worried about the situation suddenly exploding. " _I can't blame him with Gaara's past temperament. Still, was Gaara the one visiting me. That's a bit odd._ "

Rasa took a deep breath. "Gaara, if you knew I was awake, then why didn't you come and see me sooner?"

The man watched Gaara's eyes dart to the side, again avoiding the act of making eye contact. "You asked for Temari and Kankuro. I'm sorry that I'm unable to convince them to come see you."

Rasa's stared at the boy for a few minutes. "Are you feeling all right Gaara."

It was then that Gaara finally made eye contact with him, and Rasa didn't see the eyes of a killer at that point, but instead a pair of eyes he hadn't seen since the night Yashamaru died. It almost felt as if he'd never woken up from his coma, and Rasa found himself glancing back at Baki. For some reason the sensei of his three children seemed unconcerned by what Gaara's odd behavior, and was instead watching to see how Rasa would react.

"I am fine."

"I believe you were talking about cacti, and I interrupted you."

"It's all right." Gaara sat there barely reacting.

" _What should I ask next?_ " Rasa took a deep breath. "I see you've had a growth spurt over the last couple of months while I was in a coma. It also looks like you're in need of a hair cut."

Two sea foam colored eyes blinked a couple of times before looking over at Baki, who simply shook his head. The forth Kazekage pushed his lips together wondering what was going on between the two. "I suggest asking Temari for help cutting your hair."

Gaara looked at the man, and then turned to his father making a bow. "Apologies. There are things that I need to do. It was nice speaking to you."

Rasa watched as the boy stood up and left the room, leaving the Christmas cactus behind. The forth Kazekage stared at the potted plant for a bit before turning so that he could lift his legs up into the bed. The movement was painful, and a sound escaped his lips as he did so. "A couple of days. That is what I need."

"Lord Kazekage..."

"Why didn't you bring up Gaara? You didn't think I would want to hear about him?" Rasa flopped back onto the pillows. "Don't tell me that I only asked for Temari and Kankuro either."

Baki remained silent for a few minutes, before a glare from Rasa made the man speak up. "The interactions between you and Gaara in the past haven't been exactly without their problems Lord Kazekage. The last time you saw him, his personality was highly volatile after all."

Rasa closed his eyes, and a memory of Temari pleading with Gaara flitted through his mind. He remembered at first the fear shooting through his mind due to how unpredictable Gaara happened to be. The red haired child was in a rather bad mood that day, but somehow Temari managed to talk Gaara down. He watched as a few other incidents occurred, and Temari managed to have some kind of effect on her younger brother.

"Is the change in personality due to Temari?" Rasa watched Baki's eyes widened. "That's one of the reasons I placed Gaara in a team with Temari." The look of confusion continued to persist on Baki's face, and the forth Kaze found himself forced to elaborate. "She's the only person I've seen ever talk him out of doing something. Under normal circumstances force needed to be used, and I was always the one to apply it."

Baki leaned against the door frame, and crossed his arms across his chest. "I'm not sure Temari would agree with you on that one."


	9. Christmas Grouch

"What the hell Gaara!"

The young Kazekage stopped in the doorway to the living area of their family home, his sea foam eyes drifting over to where Kankuro glared at him. His older brother twisted from the path he was pacing in the room, and came over to grab the younger teen by the front of his clothing. Gaara felt himself shrink back from his brother's wrath, and he felt reminded of his father when Rasa became angry at him.

The red haired shinobi tilted his head to the side in an attempt to avoid eye contact with his brother, his throat tightening as the happy feeling he felt went flying away. "What?"

" _You_ went and saw _him._ "

"So?"

"Gaara! What don't you get about the fact you weren't supposed to go and see him?"

"I got the fact I wasn't supposed to see him." Gaara looked over at the wall, his lips pushing together in frustration.

"Then why did you go." Kankuro tugged at the front of Gaara's clothing, but received no answer as the young Kazekage started to shut his brother out. The puppet ninja let go of Gaara's clothes, and let out a sound of frustration. The red haired teen took advantage of the fact his brother let go, and headed over to the traditional table to lay down beside the piece of furniture. His brother of course wasn't pleased. "I'm not done talking to you Gaara!"

The young Kazekage rolled over onto his back, and pulled one of the pillows used for sitting to his chest. One of his arms crossed over his eyes as he attempted to ignore his older brother.

"Seriously! He could have killed you Gaara!"

"He didn't!"

"The only reason he didn't kill you was because he's not yet to his old strength!"

Gaara felt his chest tighten at this response from Kankuro, and his teeth ground together. The young Kazekage sat up, his jaw clenching from frustration. The pillow he'd clutched to his chest flopped into his lap, and his hands quickly grabbed the soft object. His arm pulled back, and then snapped forward. A loud thunk resounded as the pillow hit Kankuro square in the face.

The young Kazekage sat on the floor, his mouth tightened up as he glared at his older brother. Kankuro stood there for a few minutes as the pillow dropped down to the ground, his mouth hanging open from the surprise of the pillow hitting him. The puppet ninja's face twisted up as he reached down to grab the pillow. "Seriously! That's not cool Gaara!"

The pillow hurtled back over, and Gaara crossed his arms. The sand quickly deflected the pillow before picking up another to fling at the puppet ninja. Kankuro's facial features wrinkled in anger and frustration, and he reached down to throw the pillow back, only for the sand to intervene while Gaara glared at him.

A ripping sound was heard at the same time the front door opened again, and feathers began to mingle with Gaara's sand. Temari stepped into the room, her teal eyes widening at the sight of the mess her younger siblings caused. "Kankuro... Gaara... what happened?"

"He started it!" Kankuro pointed an angry finger at Gaara.

"I did not. You're the one who decided to accost me when I got home." The young Kazekage folded his legs underneath as he continued to sulk.

"I _verbally_ accosted you Gaara! That's very different from you accosting me with a pillow!"

"You said something stupid!"

"What I said isn't stupid! That ass hole would have killed you if he was not at his full strength!"

Gaara's jaw clenched tighter, and his sand reached for another pillow to throw at his brother. Temari's eyes widened, and her voice strained. "Gaara!"

The young Kazekage's breath pulled tight, head turned away trying to avoid looking her in the eye. His body relaxed, and one hand rested on top of one of the knee of one leg which stood up. The pillow dropped back down to the ground. "Kankuro started it."

His head turned slightly back as he heard Temari approach him, and he felt her sit down in front of him. "Gaara." His sea foam colored eyes darted away in an attempt to try and ignore her. "Gaara, look me in the eye."

Reluctantly he turned his head to look at her, but he still found himself unable to look his sister in the eye. His lips pushed together, and he knew he couldn't avoid hearing what she wanted to say.

"Gaara, did you go and see father?" Temari knelt down in front of him, and she spoke in a soft voice.

The young Kazekage couldn't open his mouth. " _She's not happy._ "

"You promised that you wouldn't go and see him." One of Temari's soft hands reached out to touch Gaara's, but his mouth remained glued shut. "You can't avoid this conversation, otouto." Gaara's eyes looked up at her finally, and she repeated her question. "So, did you go see father?"

The corners of Gaara's mouth twisted down. "I didn't go to see him."

"You didn't go and see him?" Kankuro's voice rose again. The sound of the middle siblings footsteps pounding over made Gaara back off slightly, and fall over backwards. His brother quickly dropped to the floor to straddle Gaara, and his hands went to grab the front of the younger teens clothing. "You went and saw him! I over heard some people talking about how you went!"

Temari tugged at Kankuro, pulling the puppet ninja off his feet. "Knock it off! It's Christmas time, and family is supposed to get along with each other." Gaara opened his mouth, but Temari glared at him. "We're not going to go there. I'm going to ask again Gaara. Did you see father?"

"That's a different question." Gaara continued to lean on the palm of his hands. "No, I didn't go see father. Yes, I did see him."

Kankuro let out a gurgling sound, and his finger rose up to point at his younger brother. Temari held up her hand. "You know that you've got to be careful how you word your questions to him."

"I'm not the one who asked him if he went!"

"I was very upfront with you that I saw him."

"That isn't the point!"

"Then what is!"

Temari let out a sigh. "Let's start off with the fact you promised you wouldn't go and see father."

"I didn't though."

"If that were true, then how come you saw him? The entire floor's on lock down so people won't run into him."

"I took him a cactus." Gaara watched as silence fell over the room. Temari's mouth twisted up in confusion, and he tilted his head. "Did I say something wrong? That is the proper social custom for when someone is in the hospital, to bring them a gift of some time."

Kankuro folded his arms. "Except you used it as an excuse to go and see him, so you wouldn't get in trouble with us for breaking your promise."

Gaara's eyes widened, and then he looked away. Temari however let out a deep sigh. "Kankuro..."

"We made him promise for his own good! He could have gotten killed!"

The young Kazekage's sand moved towards a pillow, and pulled it towards him. He flipped the pillow up with his hands, and snapped it into Kankuro's face causing his brother to let out a muffled reply. His mouth twitched, and Temari cleared her voice. "Enough. Both of you."

"He's just pissed because he got caught in a lie!"

Gaara picked up another pillow, but Temari placed her hand on the item. "Enough. Use your words instead of pillows Gaara, though pillows at least don't hurt people."

The red haired shinobi blinked a couple of times, and then looked Kankuro in the eye. "Why did you have to go and ruin it?"

"Ruin it?" Kankuro's voice strained. "Ruined what? That man's a complete bastard!" Gaara's eyes widened at this reaction, and his mouth twisted down into frown. "Don't! Don't you dare give me that look!" The puppet ninja stood up, his hands clenching at his sides. "That does it! I seriously can't deal with this! Just, don't go near that jerk again Gaara!"

Gaara watched as Kankuro stormed off. His head then turned to Temari. "Did I do something wrong? He seems to be really mad at me."

Temari's eyes narrowed. "I wouldn't exactly say he's mad at you, or disappointed either. I think he's more mad at himself then anything. He really is worried about you getting hurt again."

"Yeah, but..." Gaara's sea foam colored eyes turned away, and he looked at the floor.

"You said something about Kankuro messing things up. What did he mean?"

"I was happy."

His older sister's eyes widened. "Happy? How so?"

"I talked to father about cacti."

Temari let out a sigh, and held up one finger. "Here's what I think Kankuro would think about that."

"Do I really want to know?"

"No, but you're going to be a good outou-chan and listen to your big sis, got it?" The looking away told Temari that he would listen even though he didn't want to. "I think Kankuro would say something like, well, did you stop and think about why father stopped and listened to you?"

"He was glad to see me?"

"Gaara, father didn't call you."

"He thought I was dead." Gaara didn't hear a response from Temari, so he continued. His eyes looked away. "I apologized to him."

His sister's soft hands touched his face, and gently lifted his chin to look him in the eye. "Gaara, don't you _ever_ apologize for being alive. If he couldn't tell you something like that..." Temari took a deep breath. "Please. Don't go visit him again."

"We talk about cacti."

"You and your cacti." Temari looked at the ground. "You likely did most, if not all of the talking."

"He asked me about the cactus I brought him."

"Did he even listen to what you had to say?"

"Don't know. He asked how I was doing. Said something about me having a growth spurt over a couple of months. He thinks I need a hair cut, and told me to ask you..."

"You don't need a hair cut. You're perfectly fine with the way you are." Temari clenched her pant legs. "This is where the conversation is going to end. You're not to go see him, you're not to go to the place at all. We'll think about how to deal with this situation when he's out."

Gaara looked away. "I'll keep my promise to the point he asks for me."

"If he asks for you, you're not going to know, as I'm going to pass onto Baki the fact you're not to know."

"Yeah, but..." The teen's head darted up, but looked back down upon seeing the hurt in Temari's eye.

"But what?"

"They're saying it's wrong that we're not visiting him."

"Then don't listen to him. You're busy with your duties as Kazekage, so you actually have a logical reason as to why you've not been visiting him."


	10. Frosty Reception

Rasa sat up, a cold sweat dripping down his back and arms as his entire body ached. One hand reached up to cover his eyes, his body leaning over, and the man's breath coming in heavy breaths. A knock came at the door, and a nurse peeked into the room. "Lord Kazekage? Are you all right?"

"I'm just stiff, and sore." The man looked down at his lap, his eyes closing as Rasa attempted to erase the image from his dreams from his mind, but the image wouldn't leave even when he swallowed. In his dreams he saw Gaara in front of him, blood dripping for from his forehead, asking why the man hadn't protected him.

The nurse, however, did not back down. "Are you sure Lord Kazekage? You look very pale. I could go and get you something to kill the pain."

"No. Dulling the pain just dulls the mind. I need to have my senses about me, so I can take care of my duties." Rasa continued to look at his lap, his mouth twisted into a frown. "Gaara? Why hasn't he come back to visit me again."

"I was under the impression Lord Kazekage, that your son was forbidden from coming to lesson any emotional strain. Not just for yourself, but your son."

Rasa pulled one leg up in an attempt to make himself more comfortable. His mouth didn't open to say anything, but his mind went rather fast. " _That makes a lot more sense then the way Baki put it. This said..._ " The man finally spoke again. "Gaara is doing alright though?"

"Lord Gaara? He's been doing quite well while you've been in a comma. You could say he's a different person."

"I see." The man looked at the bed. " _So he doesn't need me. Still, I can't shake that feeling._ " Rasa's hand clenched around his pant leg. "Still, I'm going to be released today." The man heard the woman clear her throat, and his head darted up. "What?"

"Why don't I go ahead and get the head medical-nin for you."

The woman left, and Rasa found himself lost in his own thoughts which resulted in him not seeing the medical-nin coming into the room with another person. "Is there anyway Lord Rasa, that I might be able to talk you out of going home just yet?"

"There are things I need to do." The forth Kazekage noticed the man was accompanied by Baki. The look the other shinobi gave him told him that the man was far from pleased. "Something is bothering you Baki?"

"You've not exactly given us much time to plan for your transfer from the hospital to your home. I'm not even able to give your children time to prepare."

"I'm wanting to see with my own eyes how Kankuro and Temari are doing, but apparently I've also been forbidden from seeing Gaara." Rasa watched Baki's mouth open up. "You don't have that right."

"Lady Temari requested Lord Gaara not see you for the time being. She asked me to avoid him as much as possible, so that I'd be unable to pass on your request for him to come and see you."

"Besides that, I've also noticed no other patients on the floor, as well as the Anbu at the entrances. The entire floor is under lock down, not being used to it's fullest extent. I'm under the impression the council is attempting to keep the fact I've woken up under wraps, so if I leave when people don't expect, it is for the best, and the floor can be reopened for proper use."

Baki stared at Rasa for a few minutes. "Perhaps you should set aside thinking in a political manner, and instead be a bit more concerned about your own needs."

"I think you know full well why I can not." Rasa stared at Baki for a few minutes, but couldn't figure out why the man was so willing to push, where at one point in time he was not."

"Then if the head medical-nin gives you his leave, I will be organizing the Anbu for you to go home this afternoon." Baki looked at the medical-nin, hoping that the man would do something about Rasa leaving.

The medical-nin however let out a sigh. "I will let you out, but on the following conditions Lord Rasa. First, avoid over doing it. You're already pushing yourself to much as it is. Second, you will until I say otherwise have a nurse checking in on you."

"I agree to those terms, at this point in time." Rasa massaged his shoulder in an attempt to try and drive out the soreness, and stiffness. "And Baki, don't let my children know I'm being released. The older two are avoiding me, and I really don't appreciate the fact I've been prevented from seeing Gaara over the last few days."

"Then I will let you know when we're reading to move. Likely it will be later in the evening when things begin to slow down. Please be patient until then, and don't try doing anything on your own." Baki made a bow, before slipping out of the room.

Rasa pulled himself towards the headboard, and propped himself up. His eyes drifted to the cactus among the gifts people managed to sneak in over the last few weeks, and next to the cactus sat the book which had been found on the floor soon after he woke up. One hand reached out to touch the spine, and then pulled back.

" _I really wonder what is up with Gaara. He seemed quite pleased when he talked about his cactus. I'd forgotten he had his mother's smile. Still, I don't know how mentally stable he's actually become._ "

Through the door frame Rasa could see light filtering in telling him the time of day. Baki soon came back in the evening like he promised bringing with him a change of clothes, and Rasa changed quickly into regular clothing while Baki waited in the hallway. The forth Kazekage then hobbled out of the room using his crutches, and looked at Baki wondering if the man had kept his promise.

"Don't worry. I didn't like not telling them, but I didn't. They're likely not to be pleased, Kankuro and Temari that is."

"You think then that Gaara will be pleased to see me? That's really not like him." Rasa pulled the hood of his clothing around his face.

"Are you glad to be getting home, Lord Kazekage?"

"Glad?" Rasa frowned at the question. "I'm not sure why you're asking such a question. Shinobi aren't supposed to feel emotions, and simply do what duty calls them to do. It's my duty to go home." The man caught sight of Baki looking away, and the discomfort on the other man's face was obvious. "What?"

"I don't think your transition is going to be an easy one, Lord Kazekage."

"Why? I'm already back on my feet after two to three weeks like I wanted."

"I wasn't referring to your physical transition, but something else. I'm not sure how to explain what I mean by what I said though."

The walk back to the Kazekage household remained silent, and Rasa couldn't help but feel uncomfortable around Baki. He at first thought there was some distrust, and that Baki was no longer loyal to him. The other man's loyalty though remained unquestionable, so the reason lay elsewhere. The two arrived at the back door connected to the kitchen without any interruptions, and Rasa reached down to the doorknob, only to hesitate.

Eventually though he opened the door, and stepped in. The kitchen lights were off, and the room dim. A light filtered in from the other room, and Rasa overheard Kankuro and Temari speaking. He relaxed upon hearing his daughters words.

"It's your first time trying this type of thing, and you're doing quite well, so you shouldn't beat yourself up Gaara."

" _If Kar_ _ura were alive, that's how she would have spoken to Gaara._ " Rasa's grip tightened around the crutches, and he hobbled over to the doorway, and then over to the opening to the front room near the front door. Neither of his three children noticed him, or Baki standing there, and he watched the activities carefully.

A few wooden toys sat next to Kankuro as he fiddled with putting one together. Temari held a doll in her hands, and was watching over Gaara's attempt to sew a rather odd looking teddy bear together. Rasa's eyebrows rose up as he wondered what the children were up to, but then his answer came. "Come on. I'm sure the child in the medical ward won't care. They're stuck in there, and they don't exactly get many things."

"Yes, but..." Gaara stopped speaking, and then set the table onto the table. The red haired shinobi turned his head so that his sea foam green eyes looked at the two men in the doorway. The boy didn't say anything, but Gaara noticing the two drew the attention of the two older siblings. Looks of shock appeared upon their faces while Gaara's that he shared with his mother appeared again, ever so faintly.

Kankuro's mouth twitched, and Rasa took in the two older children. Rasa took in the other two, and felt his stomach lurch. " _I wasn't in a comma for only two months._ "

"You!" The eldest of his sons stood up, a finger pointing at him as Kankuro's voice elevated telling the forth Kazekage the puppet ninja was furious at seeing him. "What the _hell_ are you doing here?"

"Do I really need to answer that question Kankuro?"

"Don't you _dare_ pull, 'I'm the Kazekage on me' here! It's been two damn years since you went into a comma, and you're _not_ the Kazekage anymore! And as far as I'm concerned you're _not_ our father either! I'm out of here!" The teen brushed past Rasa at that point, nearly knocking him off his feet.

"So you're still small..." Rasa found himself upable to say, " _small for your age_ ", as Temari interrupted with him.

"Don't." His eldest turned her head towards Gaara. "Hey, could you stay with me in my room tonight Gaara?" Rasa took a deep breath at that point, but somehow bit back his desire to lecture Temari on the matter.

"But..."

"I need to talk to him alone."

"You said..."

"I'm going to keep my promise. To do that though, I need to talk to him a bit. Alright?"

Gaara glanced up, and Rasa could see the young teen was agitated. The man's memory drifted to the memory of agitation being a sign that his son was about to lose it. Gaara however calmly left the room. Rasa took a deep breath. "Temari..."

Rasa watched as his daughter looked him right in the eye. "Please don't lecture me. You've not been in our lives the last coupe of years, and even if you had, well, you weren't exactly a very good parent."

"I am quite aware of the fact my parenting skills need work Temari." The man hobbled over to the table on the floor, and wondered how he would be able to sit down to speak with her. "The fact I've not been around doesn't mean I can't ask you questions."

"Like what?"

"Gaara sleeps in the same room as you?"

"And that bothers you because?"

"Isn't he to old for that? He's fourteen after all. It wouldn't be such a big deal if the two of you were the same gender, but you're not."

"Gaara's completely clueless about those kind of things, so you don't need to worry about that. Even if he did, he's not that type of person." Temari watched him carefully, and then opened her mouth again. "Look, you know as well as I that Gaara has insomnia. He's not having nightmares like he used to, but he still struggles to sleep. Staying with me helps him sometimes to sleep, or at least relax, and he's not been sleeping at all the last couple of weeks."

"Couldn't he though stay with Kankuro?" Rasa watched as Temari gave him a dirty look, and looked away trying to avoid a look he remembered his wife having when he did or said something off kilter.

A silence fell over the room. Temari finally cleared her throat. "Look, I promised Gaara I'd give you a chance, but I wasn't exactly prepared for you getting out as soon as you did. As Kankuro noted, it's been two years, over two years. You can't just waltz in and expect us to be fine with you coming back into our lives. And..."

Rasa braced himself for what Temari had to say.

"Gaara should _never_ have to apologize for being alive, even to you."

One of Rasa's eyebrows rose up. "That's another thing I am aware of."

"Then why didn't you _say_ anything to Gaara when you saw him the other day."

The memory of Gaara apologizing for being alive popped into his head. "I didn't ask for him to say what he did."

"You still didn't correct him!" Temari's displeasure was all to evident.

"And what was I supposed to say to him, Temari?"

His daughter stared at him, a rather baffled look on her face. "What should you say? You don't know?"

"No. I've never known what exactly to say to him, what will set him off, or be accurate what he'll actually understand." Rasa saw the look on Temari's face, and looked away. "I already admitted to you, that my parenting skills leave a lot to be desired." His eyes darted down to the toys. "What are you three up to?"

Temari glanced down. "Christmas presents for some of the children stuck in the hospital."

"So then, I guess we can try to settle things over Christmas?"

His eldest remained silent for a bit. "No. I know you're suggesting spending Christmas together as a family, but the thing is there are plans already. We're going to have visitors from Karakura town. It's a political move actually. You understand those kind of thing, don't you?"

Rasa's mouth twisted into a frown. "Political? Over the holidays? Temari, who is the new Kazekage? You wouldn't do such a thing?"

One of Temari's eyebrows went up. "Do such a thing? I believe the idea originated with the council. I also believe you should know full well how they are."

The man took a deep breath. "Perhaps it's best that I retire to my room. I'll see you and your brother's in the morning."


	11. Misty Answers

"So you're still small..."

Gaara wondered what his father wanted to say to him, but the auburn haired man quickly found himself interrupted by his sandy haired daughter. "Don't." The auburn haired teen turned his head to look at his sister, wondering why Temari had become upset with their father. Instead Temari gave him _the_ look with her indigo eyes indicating she'd switched to protective big sister mode, and Gaara found rather quickly that his sister could potentially be scarier then he ever had been. "Hey, could you stay with me in my room tonight Gaara?"

The young kazekage heard his father take a deep breath, and Gaara turned to look at the auburn haired man with his sea foam green eyes. The young teen couldn't help but notice that Rasa didn't seem pleased with Temari's situation, and the urge to talk to his father also remained. The deep feeling of anxiety settled down into the pit of his stomach, and Gaara's eyes darted to the ground while his hands clenched up. "But..."

"I need to talk to him alone."

" _I want to talk to him to. Does Temari even remember her promise, to give him a chance?_ " The auburn haired teen muttered under his breath. "You said..."

"I'm going to keep my promise. To do that though, I need to talk to him a bit. Alright?"

Rather reluctantly Gaara stood up, glancing up at Rasa for a bit, and noticed the rather stern look plastered to the auburn haired man's face, and the young teen began to worry his lip, but then shook his head, complying to Temari's request. For some reason Gaara didn't go straight to the room, and instead hung around the hallway leading away to the rooms. His thin fingers clenched together into fists, the inability to hear the conversation aggravating him.

Eventually though his father came down the hall on his crutches, the auburn haired man closely followed by Baki. Rasa stopped at seeing his youngest. "Gaara?"

The fourteen year old looked up, his lips pushing together in frustration. Gaara's mouth opened to say something, only to stop upon seeing the pain in his father's dark brown eyes. The auburn haired teen felt his mouth snap shut, his jaw setting.

"Didn't your sister ask you to go to her room?"

Gaara leaned his head to the side so that his sea foam green eyes didn't look into those of his father. "Did Temari keep her promise?" The teen shook his head, his auburn locks getting in front of his eyes slightly. "Never mind. You don't know what I'm talking about."

"Actually, Temari told me about the promise she made you." Rasa's comment made Gaara look the man in the eye, only to see an uncomfortable amount of pain in the man's eyes, making the teen look away again. "She let me know she's not pleased with the fact I got out as early as I did, as it's going to make keeping her promise harder."

"Then she didn't keep her promise?" Gaara swallowed, looking his father in the eye again, wondering why things weren't going the way the auburn haired teen would have liked.

Rasa's eyes widened, and the auburn haired man's facial features twisted up in confusion, his voice straining slightly as he spoke to Gaara. "No, Temari kept her promise. She was simply making a legit point, that I got out of the hospital sooner then she expected, so she doesn't have as much time to get used to the idea that I'm back in your lives. She..." The man paused, as if he decided it was better to not say something. "Gaara, why didn't you do what your sister asked of you?"

Two sea foam green eyes widened, and Gaara felt a strange feeling settle over his body, the sensation of getting in trouble rushing over him. His voice strained slightly. "I..." The words " _... wanted to see you_ ," refused to come out of his mouth. "Never mind. It doesn't matter."

The fourteen year old's auburn locks shifted as Gaara made a slight bow, and headed off to Temari's room. His thin fingers stopped just short of the door handle, his mouth twisting down in confusion, realizing he hadn't figured out why his father was upset with him being asked to go to Temari's room. His hand's fell to his side, and he looked at the ground.

A tap on his shoulder brought his attention around, and Gaara looked into his sister's indigo colored eyes, noticing the smile snaking across her face despite the fact something was bothering her. " _Remember Gaara, it may be true that something is upsetting me, but my smile isn't fake. Seeing you, and that you're alright makes things better._ "

"Temari..."

"Gaara, why haven't you gone in?"

Two sea foam eyes blinked a couple of times. "Father didn't seem to like me coming to your room. Why?" A sigh from Temari, and no answer made Gaara's conversation drift. "He seemed to have changed his mind, when I saw him."

"Gaara, you didn't come straight here like I asked?" Temari reached around her youngest brother to open the door, her other hand reaching up to ruffle his auburn locks. There was a time such an action would have made him lash out, but now the fourteen year old found it comforting.

"I wanted to see him, but I couldn't even tell him that." Gaara felt Temari's hot breath on his neck, and knew she'd let out a sigh, which meant something was frustrating her. "Sorry..."

A hand pressed against his back, pushing him into the room. "Don't be. I'm just worried about you. The forth, he's never been a kind person. The way he ruled, it was based on the philosophy that one should completely cut off their emotions. You on the other hand, your rule is based on the philosophy that cutting off ones emotions completely is detrimental, and that accepting the people's feelings exist is also important."

Words refused to come out of Gaara's mouth, his frustration growing. He let his thin body collapse to the bed, his eyes squeezing shut. "He's not going to be pleased with the way I've taken care of Suna?"

The silence over the room made Gaara realize Temari had tensed up, and then he felt her sit down on the other side of the bed, her thin fingers reaching out to brush through his auburn locks of hair again. "What the previous kage thinks doesn't matter."

"It does." The fourteen year old flinched when Temari accidentally tugged one of his locks the wrong way, and his eyes snapped open to see the sandy haired teen was upset. "I said something wrong?"

"Could you sit up so we can talk Gaara?"

The auburn haired teen turned over onto his back, pushing himself up into sitting position so that Gaara's back was supported by the headboard of Temari's bed. "So it doesn't matter?"

"I'm going to try to put this the best way I can. What the forth kazekage thinks does matter, because you want him to accept you as a person. It's something that you've been struggling with your entire life, getting him to accept you. However, the previous kage needs to accept you as you are, and if he can't the fault is on him. He's the one who needs to change in other words, not you."

The fourteen year old felt his thin hands reach up to clutch at his chest. "It still hurts."

"It's going to. You should know by now that there are going to be times that you're going to get hurt, little one." Temari suddenly leaned over so that her head rested on his shoulder. "I really am going to try to get along with that man, but if he says something, anything, that hurts you, please understand that I'm not going to let it go. I know that thought hurts you, but it also hurts me to see you hurt because someone refuses to try to understand you."

Gaara stared at the foot of the bed, and then his hand reached up slowly to touch his sister's soft, sandy locks, patting her head in a comforting manner. "I'll be fine."

"I'm worried that you won't be." Temari sat up, pulling her knees to her chest so she could rest her chin on top of her legs, wrapping her arms protectively around her lower limbs.

The auburn teen thought about what she said carefully, but couldn't figure out what Temari meant, and Gaara's mind drifted to another matter. "So, why didn't he want me staying in your room?"

A laugh left Temari's mouth. "Oh great, you had to go there? Let's just say that's the real reason I wanted you to leave the room. It's not exactly a conversation you would get, yet. Maybe someday."

A knock came at the door, and then it slid open slowly so the two saw Kankuro peeking in. The brown haired teen then let himself in, and came over to the opposite side of Gaara from Temari. "Hey, move over squirt." Gaara complied, and his brother sat down, and Kankuro allowed his big hand to reach up to ruffle his brother's auburn locks. "I really hate him, you know."

"Could we not have this conversation in front of Gaara?"

Kankuro didn't answer, but simply sat there, the implication being all three would stay the night in the same room. The brown haired teen glanced over at his younger brother. "You don't look so good Gaara. You've not been sleeping well again. You know that we don't like having to dose you with that stuff Lady Tsunade made up."

"Shukaku..."

"Shukaku doesn't come out when you sleep anymore." Temari let out a sigh. "Truth be told, I have to wonder if he really did, or if it's actually a combination of things. Plus, he promised you he would behave."

Kankuro snorted. "Can't trust a tailed beast anymore then we can trust the old man."

"Subject is closed. I'm going to go and change you two, so get some sleep if you can."

Gaara however couldn't sleep, his mind rushing constantly.


	12. Breaking Ice

The way Temari spoke to Rasa made the auburn haired man want to grind his teeth together in frustration, his mind remembering the time when his sandy haired daughter wouldn't speak to him in such a manner. The man's hands gripped the crutches tightly in his hands, Rasa's mind racing to take in the implications of everything Temari said. His eldest need not actually say the words, but the auburn haired man knew his daughter wished to make it clear he wasn't wanted, let alone needed.

Rasa's teeth finally ground together. " _Seriously. As I told her, I'm aware that I've not been the best parent, but letting Gaara sleep in there with her? He's like what, fourteen after all, almost fifteen. Even if there are plans already for Christmas, that doesn't mean we can't try to be a family. I'd argue the point if I weren't so damn tired right now. They're still my children._ "

The negative thoughts stopped when Rasa arrived at the hallway, his brown eyes taking in the fact Gaara stood their waiting for him. The forth kazekage's youngest child seemed to obviously be upset about something, and Rasa felt a tightening at his throat. " _Knowing Gaara, this is likely even harder on him then it is for any of us. He's still so small for his age._ "

"Gaara..." Rasa felt his throat loosen to call out the boy's name, the lids of his eyes loosen slightly, letting the man know a bit of his worry was starting to show through even though the forth knew better then to show off his emotions. Gaara looked up, his sea foam green eyes widening in surprise, his mouth opening to say something, only for the young teen to look away. "Didn't your sister ask you to go to her room?"

Exasperation set in as Gaara attempted to hold a conversation with the auburn haired man, his eyes darting all over the place, the teens body movements indicating how uncomfortable the conversation was making him, and Rasa repeated his question, only for the answer to hang on his youngest child's tongue, the eyes widening in panic, as if he thought the answer would be bad. Gaara disappeared, and Rasa turned to his room, Baki following close behind.

Rasa reached up a hand, waving Baki away, letting him know things would be fine. For a moment he thought the man was going to tell him that the new kazekage had taken over the room, which made logical sense, as the house had passed down through each Kazekage. The auburn haired man shook his head. " _No, the house passed down through each kazekage as the kazekage position has only been passed down through this family line._ "

The thought of the kazekage line passing onto another family jumped into the man's head, but Rasa brushed it off. " _Outside of Temari, I can't see the position being passed down._ "

The door opened, and Rasa's brown eyes widened at how clean the place seemed, his mind at first thinking someone had taken the time to prepare the room for him, but then he remembered that Temari mentioned something about not expecting the forth back as soon, and in fact she seemed rather ticked. The auburn haired man looked around, his dark eyes taking in the entire room, noting the few changes.

The most obvious change was the teddy bear settled in the middle of the bed, staring off at nothing. The pillows were arranged neatly on either side of the bear, and everything was lined up symmetrical. At the foot of the bed were a set of Gaara's night clothes ready for use. Rasa found himself rubbing the back of his neck, knowing exactly who would do something like that. His dark eyes slid over to the window, picking up the cacti all in a nice neat row, organized from tallest to shortest. "Gaara..."

Rasa let out a sigh, taking noting the things he'd left out prior to leaving on the mission which would send him into a coma were still out, but someone had arranged them so they were nice, and neat. The man moved his hand over to the nightstand to see if Gaara had found the pictures kept in the drawer, as well as the other things he'd rather the fourteen year old not find, but then shook his head knowing he wouldn't want to know if Gaara found those things, or the things hidden under the bed.

The auburn haired man hobbled over to the drawers, wondering what changed there. One crutch leaned against the man's side, his hand reaching out to slide open the drawer. Rasa shook his head noting that Gaara had placed a few of his belongings in the drawer, but not many. Oddly enough, while all of the auburn haired man's clothes seemed to be there, they'd also been rearranged, as if someone had worn them, or done something else with them. In particular his mourning clothes had been moved over to Gaara's small pile.

Shaking his head, Rasa headed over to the bathroom, and found his youngest had moved things into there as well, but had proceeded to straighten everything out into an orderly manner. "What is going through that child's mind?" The man's mind fluttered to the conversation he just had with Temari, Rasa's finger pushing Gaara's toothbrush to the side. " _I believe the point she was trying to make was that being with her made Gaara feel more comfortable, but that doesn't quite explain all of this._ "

The man shook his head, to tired to change clothes, let alone shower, and Rasa found himself hobbling over to the bed to sit down on the edge. The man noted the cacti again, and the man let out a sigh. "I guess cacti is better then him trying to reorganize everything to my office to his liking. Not sure what I'm going to do with him messing with my things." Rasa closed his eyes and flopped down. " _It feels like it makes him comfortable, but this is Gaara I'm thinking of. What kind of comfort could my things bring him, when he hates my guts?_ "

The auburn man drifted asleep, lying across the bed sideways with no covers, only waking when Rasa felt something pulling at his cheeks. The fourth's eyes snapped open, and found himself nearly having a heart attack upon seeing his youngest staring down at him. After a few seconds Rasa realized Gaara had been the one pulling at his cheeks. "Gaara, what are you doing?"

"You wouldn't wake up." The fourteen year old let go of his father's cheeks, and then stood up, his eyes drifting off somewhere.

Rasa began to sit up, letting out a groan as he did so. " _He's lost focus again. I never could get him to focus on anything, except for that damn blood lust of his._ " The man's brown eyes narrowed, realizing he didn't feel any kind of blood lust coming off his youngest, no urge to kill. A headache began to sit in, and one hand reached up to brush auburn locks away from his eyes. It was then he caught sight of Gaara messing with the crutches. "Gaara?"

The auburn haired teen's sea foam green eyes blinked a couple of times. "Yes."

"What are you doing now?" Rasa let his hands rest in front of him, wondering exactly what Gaara was thinking.

The fourteen year old simply held up one of the crutches, allowing the crutch to hang from his fingers, a smile on his face.

The auburn haired man stared at his youngest, but then narrowed his eyes. "Gaara, I could have gotten those myself."

Gaara's eyes blinked a couple of times, the smile falling from his face. The auburn haired teen still held out the crutches, before turning his head. "I'm hungry."

Rasa stared at the fourteen year old, one of his auburn eyebrows shooting up as Gaara disappeared from the room. The man pushed his lips together, and lifted himself up, wincing at the pain racking his body, wishing he had time to take a shower. He moved through the hall on his crutches, noticing how early the day was. Upon arriving in the kitchen the auburn man saw the young teen sitting at the kitchen table, waiting. "So, you only woke me up because you're hungry Gaara?"

"You're hungry?"

The forth stopped short, almost losing his balance on the crutches, not at all sure what Gaara was getting at. Rasa hobbled over to the table, thinking about sitting down due to the pain. His brown eyes drifted over to Gaara, and he hobbled over to counter, prepping a rice porridge and bacon, setting aside some eggs for his own meal.

"You could have asked Temari to make you something."

"It's not that."

Rasa felt his mouth press together, wondering why he never could figure out what Gaara was thinking. A bowl of porridge soon came to sit in front of the fourteen year old, and a plate of bacon on the side. The auburn haired man watched his son's sea foam green eyes drift over to the eggs, and Rasa's brown eyes looked over, and then back to see the fourteen year old looking at the eggs in a very determined manner. Rasa would have folded his arms across his chest if it weren't for the crutches. "Gaara, you hate eggs."

"I'll eat them."

One of Rasa's auburn eyebrow rose up. "You'll eat eggs if I make them for you?"

The man shook his head, but soon had a plate of eggs in front of Gaara, and sat down with his own food. He watched as Gaara worked at the porridge and bacon, but didn't touch the eggs. Rasa shook his head, and started into his own food as Gaara began to hum a holiday tune, making the situation even more strange. The auburn haired man looked up, thinking to ask Gaara to stop in time to see Gaara stick a piece of egg in his mouth.

" _Great. He's going to spit it out. Dealt with that enough when he was younger, which is why I only ever made him certain foods._ " Rasa chewed his own food, his brown eyes narrowed waiting for Gaara to spit the food out, but instead saw the fourteen year old swallow, and then take another bite. The auburn haired man's eyes widened at the site, and the corners of his mouth began to twist up into a smile.

"You!"

Hearing Kankuro's voice quickly made the smile leave, and also stopped Gaara from humming, a fork of egg almost in the auburn haired teen's mouth as he stared after his brother.

"Seriously! What the hell are you doing here!"

"It's my house, my home Kankuro." Rasa tilted his head, his jaw tensing up as he looked at his rebellious son. Already Kankuro's face was painted, and the brown haired teen was dressed in his regalia. The auburn haired man narrowed his eyes. "Why are you wearing your makeup at the breakfast table?"

Instead of replying, Kankuro choose to leave the house, slamming the door after him. Rasa turned his head back to Gaara, his body and head both aching in a manner which rather annoyed him. Gaara began to pick at his food, and the auburn haired man opened his mouth to try and say something to encourage the young teen. "Eat, Gaara."

Gaara's utensils clattered to the plate. "I lost my appetite."

Rasa felt his throat tighten, himself having lost his own appetite due to the way his two youngest were acting. "What a waste of food." A tense silence fell over the room, and for some reason the auburn haired man decided to look Gaara in the eye, only to see that the young teen was upset. "I mean..."

The auburn haired fourteen year old simply stood up, leaving the room in a much quieter fashion then his brother had. Temari soon came down, her indigo eyes drawn to the place Gaara was sitting. "Did you cook something for Gaara?"

"And he refused to eat it." Rasa stubbornly poked his own food, another sickening silence filling the room.

"By chance you didn't speak to Gaara in that manner?" Temari's comment made the man look up. "You said something wrong, didn't you."

The man sighed, leaning back in the chair with his arms folded. "And what if I did?"

Temari's eyes narrowed. "Please don't try my patience. I'm not a child anymore. I know you're hiding something, and I don't appreciate the fact you are."

Rasa's dark eyes narrowed, his fingers tapping at his elbow. "Temari..."

"Don't."

"I may have said something about how I didn't like the fact he wasn't eating all of his food."

"I tell him that all the time, but I don't get a negative reaction from him. What did you say?"

Rasa's lips pushed together, and he looked his daughter in the eye. "Look, I'd rather not say. All you need to know Temari is that I said the wrong thing to him again."

"Really?" The sandy blond female slammed her hands down onto the table, his lips pushed together as he watched her. "Or are you just telling me you said something wrong to get me off your case? Something's bothering you, but I don't think it's because you're honestly sorry."

"What happened to your promise to Gaara?" Rasa flinched, the look Temari gave him being one very much like the one Karura gave him, and he rubbed the back of his neck. His eyes darted to the table. "I probably came across as caring more about the waste of food then the fact Gaara wasn't eating."

A silence fell over the room, Temari's arms crossing her chest. "Which was it then?"

The auburn haired man looked away. "Gaara was actually eating eggs."

"What..." A chair scrapped on the floor. "I honestly don't get you. I'd ask if you care about Gaara or not, but even if you were to say yes, I wouldn't believe you."

Rasa let the room remain silent, letting the words tumble over in his head thinking about the situation carefully. His brown eyes looked Temari in the eye, her indigo eyes still filled with ire at his actions. "You didn't ask if I care about you or Kankuro."

"Wrong answer."

The auburn haired man gripped the table, his knuckles turning white. His daughter looked like Karura, but they were not the same person, so speaking to Temari with the same familiarity felt wrong. His voice became stern. "Look, you may look like your mother, but you aren't her. Things I would discuss with her, I'm not going to discuss with you."

"Mother?" Temari's tone of voice tightened, her indigo colored eyes. "I wonder how she would think of the way you've treated Gaara?"

The knuckles became whiter as the color drained from Rasa's face. "Temari..."

"You're the one who brought mother up. She was a sacrifice, wasn't she?"

"Stop..."

"Gaara's just a tool for the village to use."

"Enough!" Rasa attempted to stand up, only for his legs to instantly give out underneath him, making him crash to the floor. Temari didn't attempt to help him back up, not that the auburn haired man would want his daughters help, but out of the corner of his eye he saw the disdain. He managed to pull himself into the chair, Rasa's entire body aching.

"I think I'll go elsewhere to eat. I don't get why mother married you." Temari stood up, and the twinkle in her eye, almost as if she were glad Rasa crashed to the floor like he had.

"I honestly don't know either, alright!" The words came out of Rasa's mouth, and he found himself wishing he could take them back.


	13. Not So Icy Heart

The eldest of the fourth kazekage's children couldn't help but feel angry regarding the situation, not that Temari wanted Gaara to know exactly how upset she was. Rasa not only showed up earlier then she thought he would, but also decided to nitpick the way the sandy-haired teen had chosen to parent her youngest sibling. " _You know, maybe if you'd actually acted like a parent to Gaara, I wouldn't 'have' to be making up for lost time now, now would I?_ "

The auburn haired man's reaction made it all to clear to Temari that Rasa was displeased at the idea of Gaara staying the night in her room, but also disappointed that she turned down his proposition of settling things over Christmas. " _Gaara sleeps easier when he feels safe, and as much as I'd like to fix things over Christmas, reality is the focus can't be completely on the family, nor is this something that can be fixed overnight._ "

Finding Gaara outside of her room didn't really surprise her, as Rasa had a negative reaction as soon as Temari asked the auburn haired teen to go to her room and the way her youngest brother still let what their father thought of them affect him bothered her. Worse yet she found out that Gaara had waited for Rasa before heading to the room. She didn't know how well Gaara slept but felt her younger brother leave in the morning, attempting to move in a manner which wouldn't wake up his older siblings.

She wasn't surprised to see things hadn't gone well regarding Rasa and Gaara that morning, but the sandy-haired teen still couldn't feel irritated at the rather sour look on the auburn haired man's face, and the stiff way his arms crossed his chest. The fact Rasa told Gaara that leaving his breakfast was a waste of food didn't surprise her either, nor did the odd comment about Gaara eating eggs. Turning the conversation to their mother like it did sting, but so did the childish manner in which her father became defensive, making him crash to the ground.

"I don't get why mother married you."

"I honestly don't know either, alright!"

The auburn haired man would have stood up had he not just crashed to the ground, and Temari swallowed at the sound of anger in her father's voice, her mind suddenly wondering if she had taken things too far. Rasa's brown eyes widened, realizing he'd just lost it, and the color quickly left the man's face. The auburn haired man lifted his arms up to bury his face and leaned in. Temari felt her indigo colored eyes widen.

" _He doesn't know why mother married him? Why would he care? Didn't he marry mother simply because..._ " The sandy haired female let her breath pull tight, realization hitting her. "You loved mother, didn't you?"

Rasa's words snapped out. "Temari, you know full well that emotions for a shinobi are a weakness."

"That's a lie." The young woman crossed her arms, and watched one of her father's brown eyes peek out at her, and the look from Rasa indicated he'd thought she'd gone nuts. "I think... I think a man who is unable to show any kind of emotion, that is the man that is truly weak because it is that kind of man who is unable to admit that they have made any kind of mistake."

The man moved his arms so she could see his face, but continued to use one to lean into. "Making mistakes isn't an option for a shinobi, as making a single mistake leads to death." Temari felt her eyes widened, wondering how Rasa could be so morbid. "If it's not your own death, then it will be the death of others."

The young woman looked away, realization hitting her. "You mean like mother." Glancing up, Temari could see the color drain from her father's face. A sigh escaped her lips as she watched the man returned to hiding his face.

"This is not a discussion we will be having."

"Yes, we will." Temari watched as Rasa's hand reached for the crutches leaning up against the table, and quickly moved to snatch them away, watching as her father's dark eyes widened in horror, his fingers still reaching towards where the crutches were. The young female leaned the crutches up in the corner of the room.

"Temari, this isn't funny. You're not a child anymore." The auburn haired man seemed tired, his movements rather sluggish.

"No, I'm not. I'm seventeen now, and I've been the one taking care of Gaara, not you. I've had Baki and Kankuro's help, but it's been me who's been Gaara's parent while you've been in a comma, so can you at least hold a conversation with me as if we're both adults?"

"I've already told you, that you're not your mother." The man's eyes seemed to gloss over slightly, and he glanced away as if he wanted to distance himself from the problem.

"No, I'm not. I really do get the fact there are things you could only talk about with mother. However..." Temari took a deep breath. "I'm still her daughter, so I think I at least deserve to know the truth about how you feel about mother." Temari felt her hand's clench together

"Shinobi..." Rasa attempted to speak, only to find himself interrupted by his daughter

"Lie, and even if it wasn't a lie, need I remind you that you're not kazekage anymore, nor are you still a shinobi of Suna at this point?"

The auburn man stared at her, his dark eyes dilating slightly.

Temari somehow managed to go to a place which made her father feel very uncomfortable, and now he was beginning to squirm in the same manner Gaara did when the fourteen-year-old found himself being grilled by his big sister, typically regarding social skills the young man wasn't quite on part with. Sometimes the council would ask her to step in, to explain things to her younger brother when they went over his head.

Rasa finally looked away, his entire body tense with frustration. "Your mother."

The previous Kazekage's right leg began to suddenly twitch, his dark brown eyes quickly moving down to his leg, his quick reaction informing Temari something was off. The muscle spasms refused to calm down and instead started to get worse. Temari watched the man grit his teeth, refusing to ask for help. His blond-haired daughter, however, spoke up, her chest seizing up with worry. "Something's wrong."

"Nothing's wrong." Rasa's stubbornness showed through, making Temari's frustration grow.

"Something is obviously wrong. I'm going to go get help." The seventeen-year-old turned to leave but felt a hand reach out to grab the sleeve of her clothing.

"Don't. I don't want Gaara to know."

" _He doesn't want Gaara to know?_ " Temari turned to look at her father. " _Is the reason he doesn't want to show emotion because of Gaara? Why, though..._ " The shaking increased, and her thing fingers touched his arm, attempting to loosen the grip of his fingers from her sleeve. "I'm going. I need to go."

"I said I don't want Gaara to know." Rasa's voice rose, indicating his anger. The tone also matched the tone he used when he choose to be firm.

"Do you really want Gaara to see you like this?" Temari didn't know why she used the words she did, but the effect on her father became clear as he let go of her sleeve. The color of his face drained, and his eyes drifted to the ground. Temari scribbled a note onto a piece of paper, slipping it into an envelope, and slipped to the side door to find the nearest shinobi to deliver her message. She then returned to the room to see that the arm Rasa had used to grab onto his leg was now spasming. Her mouth twisted into a frown. "That really doesn't look all right to me. Why are you so worried about how Gaara sees you?"

The auburn-haired man refused to look her in the eye, but also refused to answer her question.


	14. Shattering Egos

Gaara hated council meetings.

Baki knew this despite the fact the young fifth Kazekage rarely if ever showed how much he hated the meetings. The old men and women on the council always had something to gripe about, and the young Kazekage didn't know who he could trust outside of Baki. The fact his former sensei hadn't told them Rasa wouldn't be getting out of the hospital didn't phase the auburn-haired teen, nor did the fact Baki didn't pass on Rasa's requests to see him.

Sometimes the way Gaara never questioned Baki's loyalty bothered him, particularly when the man knew Rasa would have in his son's position actually had some kind of doubts. The man quickly remembered the young Kazekage tended to view things in black and white, something Baki and Gaara's siblings were constantly working on. Thus, the man found himself retaining his mentor status with the young Kazekage but also taking on a guardianship role.

Some of the other members of the council did not like this, irritated the son of the previous Kazekage looked up at the man. Baki however never once thought about personal gain. Originally his mind was set on remaining loyal to Rasa, but over the last year or so he found his loyalties shifting towards favoring Gaara, and the young Kazekage's siblings. Baki justified this position as what Rasa would have wanted, and yet the possibility of arguing with the forth regarding the wellbeing of his children did not set well.

The man could not place his finger on why.

Rasa was back in the picture, and despite what Temari and Kankuro said, the man did have a say in the everyday affairs of his children. Already the fourth showed signs of feeling alienated by all three of his children, Temari, and Kankuro out of choice, but with Gaara the reason was different. Rasa had noticed the change, but didn't know what to think of the change, let alone have a finger on what was going on. There was no telling what would happen. Certainly the fourth's interactions with the council would have been different.

Things started off fine, but quickly the same elder who questioned whether the shinobi from Konoha should be coming. Gaara's eyes widened, almost in amusement, but then the same elder brought up the same argument again.

"Apologies for saying this Lord Kazekage, but I don't think the previous Lord Kazekage would have liked the plans we've made. It was foolish of us to have even thought of these plans as a good idea. We got caught up in the zeal right after the Chunin exams. There are a lot of things we did because we were caught up in a zeal that we need to now question."

Baki flinched, knowing full well the man was now questioning whether it was a good idea to make Gaara the fifth Kaze kage. He watched the seafoam green eyes of the fourteen-year-old widen. Baki almost thought Gaara knew what the man was getting at, but then the auburn-haired teen said something else.

"We can't cancel at this point. The representatives will be here in a weeks time, and then it will be a week or two until the holiday. On top of this, the village has known about this for a couple of months, and the villagers are looking forward to it."

The man looked Gaara right in the eye, something Baki knew the young Kazekage didn't like. The auburn-haired teen had learned not to avoid eye contact with the council but also keep his cool. This time was different. "Let me rephrase what I'm trying to say. Lord Rasa is no longer in a coma, and he's even recovered enough to go home. It stands to reason that we should be considering whether or not it is better to have you, or Lord Rasa as Kazekage. You are, after all still inexperienced."

The young Kazekage's eyes widened, his entire body freezing up. Gaara's mouth even dropped, and then his eyes dropped to the table. "I don't disagree with what you say." Baki knew a ton of emotions were rushing through the young man's mind, but the older man couldn't read the boy's mind. "This is not my decision either, so I would rather focus on what I can do. For example, we need to discuss the medicine that the fourth sent us."

"That medicine?" The elder looked rather displeased and opened his mouth to complain. A messenger shinobi came, stopping everyone from speaking.

The man walked over to Joseki, whispering into the man's ear. Baki watched as the other elder on the council started, and his entire body tensed up. The man sighed, then spoke up. "Apologies, but Lord Baki is being called away on important business. That means we can make any decisions today, although we should continue this situation. I'll be sure to inform you of the rest of what happens."

Baki noticed the look on Gaara's face, the hint of panic rising to the surface. The man took a deep bow. "I'll take my leave. I'm also sure you'll be fine without me here, Lord Kazekage." The man stepped aside, his thoughts beating himself up. " _Please learn to have more confidence in yourself Gaara. Your inexperience has not been an issue yet._ "

The man instead trained his focus on the young shinobi in front of him. "Why was I called away?"

"Lady Temari requested your help at the Kazekage's residence but asked that the Lord Kazekage not be informed. It must be important, but something she does not want to bother the young lord with."

"Rasa..." Baki felt an agonizing annoyance settle in, and he waved the messenger away, heading straight to the place where the three siblings lived, now with their father in addition. He stepped into the kitchen, receiving a glare from Rasa for not knocking on the door. The siblings' sensei found himself more bothered by the fact the auburn-haired man's leg wouldn't stop twitching. "You overdid it, didn't you?"

"Baki..." Rasa's tone of voice let the man know the comment was unwelcome, as did the continued glare.

The man decided to focus instead on Temari, and saw the face of the seventeen-year-old twist up, and tighten. "What do you mean by he overdid it?"

Baki took a deep breath, his eyes darting back to Rasa, who continued to glare at him. "Do not say anything else Baki."

The man opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Temari's voice strained. "Baki! Please!"

"Your father pushed himself to get out of the hospital." The man looked Rasa right in the eye. "You'll likely find from the doctor who comes that it was recommended he not leave, but he did anyways." Rasa's brown eyes darkened, indicating the other man wanted to kill him. "Apologies but your daughter was going to find out either from me, or the doctor. You did send for someone."

"Despite the fact, I told her not to."

" _If you didn't outrank me in status, I would seriously sock you right now._ _You need some sense knocked into you._ " Baki glanced to the door, hoping the doctor would get here soon.

Temari though had other ideas. "You! Why the hell did you get out early like you did! What purpose does it serve! I told you yesterday, did I not, that you didn't give us enough time to prepare? Do you think you can just come in here as if nothing happened? You...

"Temari..." The color drained from Rasa's facial features, and Baki felt his own body tense.

"Don't Temari me. I've every right to lecture..."

"Trashcan. Please."

The seventeen-year-old stared at her father, but then hurried over to the bin, bringing it over in time for her father to grab the bin and upchuck. Baki watched Rasa's entire body began to shake, and the younger man realized the man was showing something the forth rarely ever showed to someone - fear. A knock came at the door, and Baki turned to let the head medical ninja in. The man gave Rasa an exasperated look. "I told you not to overdo it. Actually, this is the repercussions of you pushing yourself like you did the last two to three weeks."

Rasa looked the man in the eye. "Are you sure it's not..."

Baki winced as the forth's body revolted again, making the auburn-haired man need to use the trashcan.

"It's not..." The head medical ninja stared at him. "No. You've not caught something. You were in the hospital." The man walked over to the leg which twitched and touched the limb. Rasa's entire body jolted, and a few curse words snapped out of Rasa's mouth. The medical ninja touched the fourth's shoulder, shaking his head.

"As I thought, all of your muscles have tensed up. That includes your stomach muscles, so I'm going to give you a muscle relaxer, and then Lord Baki will help me to your room so we can get you into a hot shower. After that, a tea to further calm your body down, and let you sleep."

Baki took a deep breath, not liking the fact he was now playing nursemaid to the previous Kazekage. He shook his head and sent an apologetic look towards Temari. The doctor lifted up Rasa's clothing so he could give the man the dose of muscle relaxer. A look at Temari revealed a large amount of hurt he'd not seen from his young student for some time now.


	15. Playing Pieces

Shock...

Temari didn't understand her father, beyond perhaps making an educated guess that the man had a need to be in control. This would in turn cause problems once the man found out Gaara was now Kazekage. Finding out the man left the hospital before he was ready also stung, reminding her that Rasa never thought of his children's feelings or wellbeing. The distance the sandy-haired female felt between her and the auburn-haired man grew despite her hopes he would tell her something about Karura.

" _Why? Why did he get out early like he did?_ " The reason wouldn't come to her. Anger pounded through her skull, as did annoyance. " _He's not worried about overexerting himself, and yet he's worried about having caught some kind of bug? What is wrong with him? Can't he get his priorities straight?_ "

Temari watched Baki help the head medical ninja help Rasa to his feet. She dropped the trash can back in the allocated spot and set about making her own breakfast. With the food, she prepared a pot of tea. Baki soon came down, looking rather unpleased with Lord Rasa as well. The young woman set a cup of tea down. "Can we talk, sensei?"

"I need to wait for further instruction from the doctor. Your father is in the shower and has been told to remain under the hot water for awhile." Baki sat down across from her, not taking up his cup of tea.

"I hate him," Temari muttered into her first bite of food.

"I'm aware of that. You and Kankuro have told me this quite a few times." The man still didn't pick up his cup of tea.

"He's so childish. He's forty years old, but acts the way he does." Temari took a sip of her tea. "He's avoiding answering my questions. Told him I'm not a child anymore."

"Keep in mind, Lord Rasa's been in a coma for over a year, so he's not used to the idea you're seventeen, eighteen now. You turned eighteen this August, did you not?"

"Please don't tell me I'm of marrying age." Temari watched Baki flinch.

"Perhaps you should be glad Lord Rasa didn't bring that up, Lady Temari?"

Temari stopped breakfasting, setting her cup down. She tossed the idea over in her head. "I think..." A sigh escaped her lips, her teal eyes looking at the top of the table. "I think I'd be a lot less concerned if maybe he did bring it up, but truth be told I find myself questioning why he even came back."

"Lord Gaara."

The sandy-haired female pushed her lips together. "Great. Merry Christmas to us, with the old man butting into Gaara's business. That man's why my baby brother was as messed up as he was. All the previous Kage was good for was keeping Gaara under control, and that isn't needed anymore."

Baki remained silent, still not touching his tea.

"I don't get him. I mean, he's so concerned about getting out, and pushing himself like he did, and then he freaks out because he might have a flu bug."

The man's dark eyes widened. "That makes sense, though, considering the fact him having the flu wouldn't be a good thing."

Temari let her toast slip from her fingers to the plate, her mouth pushed into a frown. "I really don't care if that idiot gets himself sick."

"That's not..." One of Baki's eyebrows, or the one which was actually visible, went up. "Are you telling me Lady Temari, that you're not aware of that issue with Lord Gaara?"

The sandy-haired female felt a chill run down her spine, and she couldn't help but let her jaw drop. Her words began to stammer out. "Wait. What about Gaara? Tell me."

"I'm not sure..." Baki stopped, his fingers tapping the table. "No. I guess you need to know." The man's eyes were drawn away as the head medical ninja came into the room. "I'll tell you later, though. What is the fourth's status?"

The head medical ninja shook his head. "He will be fine. He's still got some time under the shower before I let him out, and then I'm dosing him up so that he'll sleep for a few hours. I'll also prepare some medicine in case something like this happens again. Do you wish that I have it dropped by Lady Temari?"

"No, I can pick it up later."

"That's fine, but don't leave Lord Rasa in the house alone. I don't trust him not to overdo things."

"He's a grown adult." Temari felt her throat tighten, her eyes falling down to her fingers, wondering how the auburn-haired man could be so childish.

Baki let out a sigh but refused to say anything. "If you don't mind, I need to get back to a council meeting. Hopefully, the other council members haven't made the Lord Kazekage any more uncomfortable than they already have."

Temari's eyes widened, wanting to know what the man meant, but knew that he couldn't say anything. The answers would need to come from Gaara. "Could you let someone know I won't be able to take care of any of my duties until Gaara gets home?"

The man stopped, turning his head to look at the sandy-haired female. "Are you sure that is a good idea?"

"Why not? Gaara's not lost control for a very long time."

"I'm referring to the fact the fourth and fifth don't exactly know how to interact with each other, but also the fact the fifth is still learning to take care of himself."

Temari let her teeth worry her bottom lip, and noted the head medical ninja shared the same worry. Her teal eyes darted down. "I honestly don't trust my father, as he's already blown it this morning in the way he interacted with Gaara, but I still do trust Gaara not to do anything stupid. I think I can trust him to be on his own, with father for a few hours or so, so that I can get the medicine, and run a few errands."

"I'll have some paperwork dropped by so you have something to do while the Lord Kazekage's gone." Baki bowed slightly to the sandy-haired female, and he left.

"Joy." Temari watched the doctor prepare a tea and head back upstairs. He soon came back down letting her know Rasa was asleep, and would be for a few hours. Someone delivered papers regarding the Christmas celebration coming up, and she shook her head, She was glad when the other shinobi had left, and focused in on the paperwork. The eighteen-year-old didn't realize at first the front door had opened and closed, but eventually thought to check the sitting room.

Temari's teal eyes widened at the site in the living room. "Oh dear."

Gaara looked up from the boardgames, the rings around his eyes accentuated by the bags under his eyes. His sand moved various pieces on the board games he'd set up, and his seafoam green eyes blinked a couple of times. "Did I do something wrong?"

"You're playing yourself on board games again. You must be really tired."

The auburn-haired teen turned his head to look at the board games he'd set up. "My mind won't slow down again."

"I guess I'll need to be giving someone else medicine as well." Temari felt the corner of her mouth twitch, hoping Gaara didn't notice the action. "Say, could you stay around the house until I get back? I need to run some errands, and I'm not supposed to leave father alone."

"Is he alright?" Gaara's eyes blinked again, and his mouth opened, almost as if to yawn. Instead, he shook his head.

"He's... it's precautionary. You understand what that means."

"Yes." Gaara looked back at the board games. "Temari, would it be possible for us to have a family dinner tonight? There is only so much time until the shinobi from Konoha show up."

"Well..." Temari felt her throat tighten. "I don't have time to cook tonight." The sandy-haired female noticed a glint in her brother's eyes, and a look of amusement. "Gaara, you know you're not allowed to cook if nobody else is in the house, right?"

"I know." The auburn-haired teen continued to move pieces across the multiple boards.

"You'll be okay, then, alone here with father?"

"Yeah."

"Even after what happened this morning."

Gaara's movements of the pieces finally stopped. "That wasn't his fault. It was mine. I'm always doing things that disappoint him."

"No, father..." Temari stopped short, the idea that Rasa actually cared to sicken her. The young woman shook her head and tried smiling. "Alright. Behave."


	16. Asundered Sand

Hot water poured over sour muscles while Rasa swallowed away his frustration, his dark eyes closing. The auburn-haired man's fist clenched together, not liking how he acted weak in front of his daughter. Emotions the man normally kept in check welled forth, but not to the point he completely broke down. The head medical ninja said something about his stress boiling over, but Rasa's thoughts skirted away from the idea something was bothering him, only to keep coming back to the answer.

" _You broke your promise to Karura._ "

A knock came at the door, and the medical ninja told him he'd been in the shower long enough. The auburn-haired man came out of the shower on his own, changing into night clothes before sitting on the bed. His eyes drifted over to the nightstand next to the bed, where Gaara's teddy bear and nightclothes remained, then to the cactus he let remain on the shelves. The medical ninja remained, handing him a cup of tea, and reluctantly Rasa drank the concoction.

The forth let out a disgusted sound upon hearing the man tell him he had medicine prepared, and Rasa swallowed, wondering if Temari would tell Gaara about his breakdown. The man soon found his eyes fluttering shut, with the hope he wouldn't have to dream of Karura. Eventually, his eyes opened back up, and groggily he forced himself up, glad that the medicine to make him sleep had apparently worn off. He turned his head, his dark eyes noting his crutches by the side of the bed.

Rasa lifted himself up, and hobbled out to the sitting room, looking for someone to find out what had gone on. The auburn-haired man stared at the mess, the many board games sitting in the room in various states of gameplay. The man's mouth opened, wondering what his children had gotten up to. " _Do I really want to know?_ "

Rasa's eyes noted the light coming from the kitchen and headed in that direction. The man stopped in the doorway, noticing Gaara at the stove with a few pots. The auburn-haired man noted the flame, and his throat tightened as his son pulled one of the pots off the stove without turning off the burner. The man moved forward, concerned at what the fourteen-year-old was up to. "Gaara, what are you doing?"

The young auburn-haired teen startled at the sound of Rasa's voice, one of the handles slipping from Gaara's hand. The man felt his body surge forward, quickly grabbing the handle with his free hand, burning his hand slightly in the process. Despite the older man's hand steadying the pot, allowing Gaara to set the pot on the container by the sink. The fourteen-year-old remained focused on the task he'd set himself to, something Rasa never thought would happen. On calloused hand reached up to touch his burnt hand lightly, only for the auburn-haired man to quickly shake off the pain.

Rasa reached out for the over pot, to find kenchinjiru cooking on the stove. "Gaara is cooking." The man glanced over at the sink to see Gaara attempting to pour the water out of whatever else he was cooking, pouring towards himself instead of away. The auburn-haired man felt his entire body tense up. "Good lord, Gaara is cooking unsupervised!"

The man moved forward, grabbing the handles of the pot just as hot steam came up, and some water spilled over the edge of the sink towards Gaara. "Careful! Away from you, not towards you!"

The sand leaped into action, only to prove ineffective as the water soaked into the sand, clinging to the left sleeve of Gaara's clothing. Rasa saw Gaara's face twist slightly, indicating the boy felt pain, making the panic in the man's chest worsen. He opened his mouth, only to stop short when Gaara spoke up. "I can't see what's in the pot."

"You don't need to see what is in the pot Gaara." Rasa felt the handles of the pot twist towards the correct direction and watched as the water drained. The fourteen-year-old then moved away and placed pot back to the stove. Rasa watched Gaara head over to the table to sit, the teens seafoam green eyes staring at the wall. Rasa took in the fact Gaara wasn't wearing the clothes he wore for shinobi duties, and instead something more casual. The man turned his head back to see the pot filled with potatoes and quickly turned off the burner. Rasa stepped over and sat down. "Gaara..."

"I'm sorry."

The man's dark brown eyes widened. "What?"

The fourteen-year-old refused to look him in the eye, and the thin fingers tightened around the table edge in the same way Gaara's lips did. "I'm always messing up. I'm sorry."

"That..."

A knock came on the kitchen door, and the door swung open revealing the teacher of Rasa's children. The man opened his mouth. "Lord Kaze..."

The man stopped short, and Rasa noticed out of the corner of his eye that Gaara's attention turned towards the man, but brushed it off. His tone became terse, displeased with the fact the other man had interrupted. "Baki?"

"I'm supposed to be checking on you, Lord Rasa."

Rasa watched Gaara stir, the look on the young teen's face showing concern. "Wait..." The boy looked back at his father. "Did something happen. Is that why Baki..."

"Gaara, I'm fine. You, however, if I recollect, managed to pour scalding hot water on yourself, and instead of your sand protecting you, it managed to soak through."

"It wasn't supposed to do that."

Rasa let out a sigh, heading to the cupboard where he knew there would be a simple first aid kit. "You mean you didn't expect that to happen."

"I'm sorry."

"Would you..." The alarm in the kitchen went off, making Rasa nearly drop the item. He turned slowly around, his body stiff from the morning's episode, and saw smoke pouring out of the oven. His jaw clenched together, and he set the first aid kit down next to Gaara. "Do you know how to use this?"

"Yes..."

Baki gave Rasa an exasperated look, and at first, he thought the man was annoyed with him, but the Suna shinobi's next words said otherwise. "Lord Gaara, what happened to the rule about not cooking unless someone else is in the house with you?"

Gaara's eyes widened. "Father was home."

The fourth Kazekage watched Baki turn off the oven. Rasa's throat tightened as he watched the man start to open up the oven, and the auburn-haired man stood up. The other man cleared his throat. "No, I have this Lord Rasa. You should see Lord Gaara."

Rasa froze, his eyes drifting over to Gaara. The fourteen-year-old continued to avoid eye contact. "Why?"

"Lord Gaara is more likely to let you touch him for whatever first aid treatment he needs."

"Right." Rasa looked at the auburn-haired teen, only to nearly choke as his son turned to look at him with wide, seafoam green eyes. It almost seemed as if there was a slight pout on Gaara's face. "As if Gaara would ever let me touch him."

"I'm fine."

The auburn-haired man let his dark brown eyes glide over to Baki, the corner of his mouth twitching once when he saw the charcoal mess the other man pulled out of the oven. "Gaara... let me see your arm."

Rasa folded his arms across his chest and watched the young, auburn-haired shinobi pull back the sleeve on his left arm, revealing the skin was slightly red. "Please put some of the ointment on that, Gaara. You said you knew what to do."

The auburn-haired man watched Gaara frown, and two seafoam green eyes drift over to the hand of the auburn haired man. "What about you?"

"I'm fine..."

The corners of Gaara's mouth turned down a little bit more than they already were, but the fourteen-year-old complied, applying the ointment to his arm. After putting a bandage over the burn, Gaara held out his hand.

"What?"

"You're hand."

"I'm fine. I already told you that..." Rasa's eyes drifted over to Baki and noticed the other man was giving him a look. "... Gaara." Looking back at his son, he noticed two eyes wide, almost begging. "Seriously, don't do that."

"Do what?"

Baki moved behind Gaara so that the auburn-haired teen could no longer see him. The man mouthed, " _He really doesn't know._ "

The auburn haired man frowned, then closed his eyes letting out a sigh. " _Baki means Gaara doesn't know he's showing emotions like he is. How the hell is he functioning as a shinobi?_ "

Gaara's eyes drifted from his father's eyes to staring at the man's hand. Rasa finally gave in, holding his hand out for the young man to apply salve too. The auburn-haired teen finished when the kitchen door opened, and all three males heard a rather exasperated female voice. "What did you two do this time?"

Gaara's eyes drifted from his father's eyes to staring at the man's hand. Rasa finally gave in, holding his hand out for the young man to apply salve too. The auburn-haired teen finished when the kitchen door opened, and all three males heard a rather exasperated female voice. "What did you two do this time?"


	17. Exasperating

“What did you two do this time?”

The look Rasa sent her way definitely said he felt she overstepped, yet at that moment she felt as if she were dealing with Gaara and Kankuro rather than Gaara and a parent. The level of frustration Temari felt from feeling as if she were _raising_ her own parent didn’t help, but Rasa continued to glare at her. Gaara pointed his finger at Rasa, expressionless as always before saying, “He didn’t do anything. Why would you think father did something?”

“That…” Temari’s eyes blinked. She pointed at Gaara’s arm, turning her head slightly so she might look towards Baki for clarification. “What happened to Gaara’s arm?” She then pointed to Rasa’s arm. “What happened to _his_ arm?”

“Gaara tried cooking unsupervised again,” Baki stated

“Father was home.” Of course, she’d made the mistake of telling Gaara that he wasn’t allowed to cook while someone wasn’t home, so she wasn’t surprised he’d come to the conclusion he’d had. Temari also knew Gaara wanted the family meal, so his response and reaction to her words came as no surprise.

“As I’ve was wanting to say before your sister showed up Gaara-sama, it doesn’t count as being supervised if your father is asleep in his room.”

“I see,” Gaara said, not at all bothered with what just happened.

Which, she needed to find out _what_ just happened. “Gaara, what did you do wrong?”

“Father said I shouldn’t pour the water out towards me.”

“In other words, you poured boiling water on yourself,” Temari felt her throat tighten. Watching Rasa, the way the man fidgeted wasn’t something she’d ever expected, but then… the situation definitely took the man outside of his comfort zone.

“It probably would be worse if father hadn’t been here, but it’s my fault he got burned.”

“Gaara…” Temari’s mouth tightened her hands on her hips. “I’m going to go ahead and make dinner, but could you possibly leave the room so I can speak with father?” A rare frown appeared on Gaara’s face. “Please.”

“I’m thankful—”

“I know, I know. I still need to talk to him, but…” Temari looked at her father, noting the look of discomfort on the man’s face. “Gaara, do you remember the conversation we had about how sometimes the things you do or say make people uncomfortable.” His facial features faltered, his mouth opening. “I think father has some questions of me regarding what happened, questions he doesn’t feel he can ask you.”

This again resulted in a glare from Rasa, yet right before, when she noted he had questions, his facial features seemed to twist as if he really did have questions for her. Specifically, Temari didn’t understand the reason for the glare, though she did for the one earlier. She glanced over at Baki, who let out a sigh. “Lord Gaara, why don’t we get some fresh air up on the roof. I’m sure Lady Temari will let you know when dinner is ready? Keep in mind, there are things your siblings have to work through with your father. This, this is part of the process.”

Gaara still seemed disappointed as he followed after Baki. When the two left, Temari opened her mouth, but Rasa spoke first. “Gaara’s grown.” Her eyes blinked in confusion. “I don’t mean just physically.”

“Just to clarify something with you, the reason Gaara didn’t grow in the manner you’re referring to before is your fault.”

“Is this your doing?”

“Why do you say that as if it is a bad thing?”

“That…” Rasa looked away, a look of exasperation on his face. “That’s not what I meant.” His fist clenched. “I do care.”

“What?”

“Earlier you asked a question, about whether I care about Gaara.”

Temari’s eyes closed. “This…”

“Is the way Gaara is your doing?”

“No.” His words frustrated her.

“That doesn’t make sense. The way you deal with Gaara…”

“Seriously,” Temari’s eyes snapped open so she might glare at her father. She watched him flinch, looking away.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Rasa swallowed.

“Why not?”

“You look like your mother?”

“Feeling guilty?”

“That look always made me feel…” Rasa stopped short, almost as if he didn’t want to admit something to her. He let out a sigh. “She’d be proud of what you’ve done with Gaara?” He looked at her, almost as if questioning if he’d said the right thing this time, almost like… a shudder ran down her spine, remembering a similar look on Gaara’s face.

“I meant about her death.”

“Yes.”

“Was the cost worth it?”

“Was the cost…” Rasa took a deep breath, pondering the question carefully, the color draining from his face. “That’s a rather complicated question.”

“How is that complicated?”

“Gaara was worth it.”

“Yes, because having him as a weapon…”

“That isn’t what I meant.”

“Then what did you mean?”

“I won’t risk what happened before happening again, not when…”

“Not when what?”

“I don’t want Gaara to…” Rasa paused, looking at her, glaring yet again.

“To what? Go back to being the way he was? Good grief.” Temari found herself wanting to yell at the man, her fingers drumming against the countertop instead of preparing dinner for everyone. The holidays, which prior to Rasa waking up seemed like something which would be enjoyable for the family, simply wasn’t, not to mention the Shinobi from Konoha were coming for a visit making her already wonder what kind of disaster might end up happening. “That would never happen.”

“Sill. He doesn’t need to know. I don’t _want_ him to know.”

Which of course didn’t make any sense, yet Temari didn’t think she could push the subject any farther. Instead, her focus turned towards Rasa’s bandaged hand, remembering how the man became physically ill. “I picked up your medicine.” No response came from her father, yet she wasn’t surprised. “Look. You should actually take care of yourself as Baki suggested. Gaara will notice if you don’t, but having him hover because he’s worried sick about you is actually far worse than having him hover in a manner you think he’s going to kill you any moment.”

“Emotions are…”

“For Gaara, emotions are a strength, but because of him I’ve come to believe they are as well, particularly how he explains why they are a strength.”

“And how does he explain that?”

Temari took a deep breath. “Keep in mind for the longest time Gaara only ever thought of his own survival and keeping himself alive.”

Rasa’s eyes blinked, looking up from his hand, making her realize why her attention was drawn towards the hand. “What? What does that have to do—”

“Everything. Gaara doesn’t live for himself anymore.” Temari’s mouth pushed together trying to explain what Gaara explained so many times. “Honestly, he’d be better at explaining this, but he’s a lot smarter than you ever realized.”

“I suspected.”

“You suspected?” Temari took a deep breath, her eyes still focused on her father’s hand.

“Gaara’s always been different.”

“You do realize you made him that way.”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Seriously—”

“He’s back to acting the way he did before…” Rasa trailed off, glancing away.

“Before?” Temari’s eyes blinked. At first, she found herself rather taken aback, but then she felt, for some reason _hoped_ , she knew what he was talking about. “Yashimaru? You do know that was your fault, right?”

“That…” Rasa preferred being mum about whatever thoughts went through his head, but having a conversation with him proved as difficult to figure out as a conversation with Gaara. The one difference- Rasa should know better. “I’m not going to argue that point as I think from what you know that is a fair point.”

“You do realize just now you admitted that there is something you’re not telling me, right?” For some reason, she found herself using tactics she used on her youngest brother on their father.

“You should start preparing dinner.”

“Don’t change the subject.”

“I’m not changing the subject. I simply don’t know how to continue the conversation at this point, but I’m heading up to my room.”

“What about Gaara’s family dinner?” Temari let out a deep breath, finding herself completely frustrated with the man.

“Someday, maybe. I doubt Kankuro would appreciate me being here. You and I, we’re at least on speaking terms of sorts.”

“I don’t know if I’d call this being on speaking terms.”

“I guess not. I am though taking your suggestion of taking care of myself so Gaara doesn’t know under advisement.” Rasa stood, looking down at his hand, flexing it carefully.

“Still not sure what to think of that?”

“No. My thoughts are my own Temari.”

“But you did have a question, right?”

“I think I answered in my mind my own question.”

“Thank you for being so cryptic. You and Gaara are so much alike.”

Rasa’s eyes blinked once, his head tilting up to look at her, his mouth dropping. “Like me? I always thought he was more like Sasori, even like…”

“Sasori? Sasori of the Red Sands? Of course, you would think of that psychopath in regards to Gaara!”

“I…” Rasa looked at her as if taking in what she said. “Sorry. I was actually thinking of how Sasori was when he was younger, but I was also going to say Gaara reminds me of your mother.”

“W…” Temari’s eyes closed. She took a deep breath, waiting for the man to leave, wishing yet again there wasn’t an actual hint in what he said that the man actually cared about the wife he’d sacrificed to create a weapon for Suna. When he left, she started into making the meal.


End file.
